Soulmates
by BellaHikariHime
Summary: LongFic - Sakura fell out of love with Sasuke. Hikari is Naruto's cousin, she has the Sharingan and something else. What if Kaguya had also had a daughter? The girls are thrown back in time to the Warring Era by Hamura who wants to give them another chance. What if their arrival changed everything? Timetravel AU- MadaSaku – OCxOC - Also starring: Founders, Izuna & Toka.
1. The Begining

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own Naruto**

**PROLOGUE**

THe Namikaze Clan was a cursed one, there weren´t any females newborns. Those few that were conceived used to die mysteriously. Also, they had some kind of prophecy about a female child who will inherit some great ancient power. That´s why, when Kei Namikaze learned that he was having a daughter, he hid on Sunakagure with his wife, Reiko Takishima.

The Takishima Clan was a cursed one, they were kind of a branch of the Uchiha Clan. Takishima Uchiha was the head medic of the Uchiha Clan. He had a theory that the optic nerve's chakra coil damaged itself while using the sharingan due abuse of chakra, and that made the cornea and the crystalline degenerate and cause the blindness. He thought the inbreeding may have caused a genetic malformation and he wanted to experiment on his comrades to test his theory.

Of course the rest of Uchiha, thickheaded and greedy, didn't want his theory to be proved. It was better to control the clan respecting and fearing the Sharingan and the dream of the Mangekyo, than to have everybody using it safely. Takishima got kicked out from the Clan´s camp by Madara Uchiha´s father who fought him to death. He was thrown to the Nakano River supposedly killed.

A Boy with a gift found him on the river coast and healed his injuries. He asked this boy – who happened to be Hashirama Senju- to help heal his blind sharingan eyes. He told him that without them he was useless and also defenseless, he knew what had to be done but he didn't have any chakra left. Hashirama, as goodhearted as ever, decided to help and he mend the chakra coils and told him that he was right, there was a small degeneration that could be fixed with proper treatment. The Senju knew he was helping an enemy, but he sensed no threat in him, and no ill will. This man was different than the other Uchiha. Tobirama would beat the hell out of him, so he decided no to tell him, and asked Takishima to swear that they didn't meet.

Takishima was actually almost blind so he could see everything and tried to remember the procedure without the Senju Boy knowing, and parted ways with him. Later, the Uchiha patrolled the battlegrounds looking for almost dying clansmen and healed them. They felt anger to their Clan because they were left for dead, so they decided to start a new one without the Uchiha name or crest, they called themselves Takishima Clan and a red iris with one black pupil and three spikes was their new crest.

During Nidaime Hokage´s reign, the Clan moved to Konohagure and shared the Uchiha Compound with their fellow ex clansmen, who were jealous that their dojutsu was perfect –it had evolved so the newborns didn't get blind. Takishima Clansmen didn´t believe in inbreeding, because the mixed blood was the one that perfected their lineage.

During the Sandaime Hokage´s reign, Kei Namikaze – Konoha´s Yellow Flash brother – and Reiko Takishima –granddaughter of Takishima Uchiha- met and fell in love.

In Sunakagure they had a daughter, Hikari, whose last name was also Takishima so people wouldn´t be suspicious of the Namikaze girl.

When the girl was three years old they felt something that was haunting them, so they went back to Konoha that was now ruled by the Yondaime Minato, Kei´s brother. They lived there for a year until the day that Reiko and Kei left their daughter with her uncles , the day they escaped from Konoha, the day that all the Takishima Clan was massacred, the day of the attack of the Kyuubi, Yondaime and his wife Kushina died, Naruto was born, and Hikari awoke her Sharingan… and something else.

*****Author's note*****  
**Hello Everybody! I'm an avid FanFic reader that threw cautions to the wind and decided to write something. This Story will be mostly an OC couple and MadaSaku. Hikari is my OC so will be some others characters in the future. Her parents may be mentioned, but the only purpose is to give her a background also her clan's story is important only because she has the Sharingan but she's not an Uchiha (Spoiler alert: Sasuke kun will not like her haha)**

**As for Sakura, I pretend to write her as I think she really is, like her elder 'The Last' version or the Shinden Novels, more mature, powerful jonin kunoichi, and second Tsunade in healing and strength.**  
**First chapters will set the roots of the story, then you'll figure out the rest!**  
**IMPORTANT: English is not my first language, so please be kind and tell me if it doesn't understand a word i've written**

**First chapters will be kind of summaries with more information and some time skips, some of them will be developed during the story.**


	2. The Prophecy

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own Naruto**

**AUTHOR'S ADVICE: From this chapter until Ch.6 you'll read My OC's and Sakura's Story, how they became friends and interacted with eachother during the main story. I mantained Naruto and Shippuden storylines almost the same. If you don't want to read this and want to skip to the time travelling thingy, please go to Ch. 7 (I feel like a "Choose your own adventure book" LOL), but I must warn you, the might be some parts that would be mentioned or mean something in the future chapters and you might get a bit lost.**

**With that been said, Welcome to my story!**

* * *

"Mom, Dad, where are you going?"… "Please don't leave me". A child cries and runs to her parents, leaving her aunt's embrace. When Kei and Reika saw their daughter, they freezed in place. Fugaku too. Has this little four year old girl activated the sharingan at such a tender age, and only because her parents were leaving? No, it wasn't just because of that. She was a sensitive child, she maybe could feel the loss that this day was going to bring.

"We need to leave, it believe it's already started, I only hope that Yondaime and Anbu forces could stop them" Uchiha Fugaku said.

Reika and Kei hold her daughter in their arms and told her that they loved her, and that she had to be brave. They were leaving her with her uncles for her safety, and they'll contact her soon. And so, they left.

* * *

Minato felt awful. He couldn't make it in time. It remembered him what happened with his team not so long ago. It was like a bad omen. Maybe if Fugaku had learned the plan before and told him, he could have make it. Anbu had caught all the culprits and executers, and they were in jail, but that wasn't enough. He was only happy to know that his brother and sister in law were helped by his Uchiha friend.

He came home to find a sleeping Hikari, and a rather pale Kushina. She was breathing heavy and cursing… Naruto was coming! Ok, he had to move. Leaving his grief behind, he grabbed his little niece and Kushina and proceeded to travel with Hirashin to the safe house Sandaime's wife had for the red haired to give birth.

It all happened in a blur: A baby crying, a surprised little girl, a masked man, the Kyuubi, a tired Kushina, Anbu ops and Sandaime's wife dead. Naruto in the middle of a battlefield, and Minato working on his fuinjutsu.

Suddenly, the Kyuubi got enraged and was ready to attack but he stopped on his tracks to see a little girl with Sharingan eyes and a purple chakra floating around her. Hell, the kid herself was floating. She looked at him in the eyes, raised a hand and touched the Tailed-beast nose. He jumped in surprise

"YOU" he roared.

"Be calm Kurama, because I do not blame you at all" she said in a foreign voice.

The Beast calmed for a minute and then was blinded with rage and hurt, her touch hurt, her words more. So without thinking he hit the child and threw her away a few meters past Naruto where she landed unconscious. Minato, who was seeing everything unable to do something hardened his fuinjutsu. The rest is the sad story we know. The Kyuubi killed both Yondaime and Kushina, but the Hokage could send one last message to his only ex-student left.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi found that his sensei's special kunai disappeared and note took its place. Written in fresh blood it said: "The prophecy is true, she's awoken"

When Kakashi arrived to the battlefield with the Sandaime, he found his former sensei and his wife lifeless, Naruto crying and Hikari still unconscious next to him.

* * *

Years passed and Naruto was always mistreated by Konoha's citizen. Hikari, who lived with him, used to defend him, but she was too busy with the academy now so he didn't see her very much. She was the last Takishima known, and with all that happened with her Clan, Fugaku had made a statement that she was to be taken care by the Uchihas, and doing something against her was the same like doing something to him or the village. He was still mad that something like Uchihas killing their comrades almost slipped past his nose. This, and the Kyuubi attack put the Uchihas in everybody's gossip.

Hikari was a regular girl, black hair, light brown eyes with some greenish spots, and freckles. A bit skinny, people would sometimes underestimate her. She always said what she thought and was really stubborn when she thought she was right (sometimes she really was, but sometimes not and the stubbornness remained it made you wanted to throw something at her). Her chakra and sharingan helped her to pass quicker than the other students at ninja arts, but the real thing was that she was bright, Nara type bright, but a bit nerdy so the kids used to bully her. The called her "Nerdo" or mocked her about her freckles: "Do you sunbathe with a strainer?" they used to ask her, the worse was when a boy called her shit-face. She hit him on his ankle and almost broke it. She didn't have many friends.

Somehow she had become close to Itachi, he was the most amazing person she'd met. So mature for his age, strong, intelligent, he was unreal. And he befriended her, he helped her the time when she hit the boy that told her shit-face. He put himself in between them and, sharingan activated, only looked at the boy, who almost peed himself.

"Hi, Uchiha-San, thanks for your help though I didn't need it" she said with her characteristic stubbornness.

"Takishima-San, Otou-San told me to look after you. Or clan is responsible for your suffering, so he wanted me to help you if you needed" Itachi said plainly.

"Oh, man, you really go to the point don't you?" Hikari said "Please call me Hikari, but I tell you, I don't want your pity. Next time don't show up if you're not the owner of your actions, but your father is" she continued harshly.

"My, my, Itachi-kun. You don't know how to treat a lady don't you?"another male voice called. Itachi was embarrassed, but she couldn't tell if it was for the way he treated her or the way the teenager (another Uchiha) addressed to him. "I'm Shisui Uchiha Young lady, I'm this charming little man's best friend. Please to meet you" added offering her a hand to shake.

"Nice to meet you too Shisui-san. Is your friend always this charming?" she mocked.

"Oh, you have no idea" Shisui grinned

"Ok, stop it. I didn't help you because my father told me, if that was the case I would have helped you long before since they started bulling you. I only thought he was extremely rude and had crossed a line" Itachi blurted.

Shisui and Hikari watched him in awe. That was the longest sentence Itachi had said in a long time, and the elder Uchiha pointed that out. "That's the longest line I've heard from your mouth Ita-Kun"

Itachi kind of blushed, it was difficult to tell with his emotionless Uchiha face. The silence fell and Hikari and Shisui burst in laughter, Itachi smiled too.

Hikari remained living with his little cousin, she then graduated at the age of 9 like Itachi, and they both became Chuunin together. Itachi was far more skilled and made it to Jonin and Anbu, but still used to spar with her and Shisui. He was her first crush when he left all that Uchiha pride and cool façade aside he was a sweet boy. Itachi had no time for love, but she realized sooner than later that he liked Izumi Uchiha, so she got over the crush and finally could love him as a real brother like he loved her. She called him Itachi-Nii. -Sasuke was soo jealous!- But that was kind of cute.

Naruto entered the academy and was determined to be a Hokage. Nobody told him anything about his parents, and he didn't ask. Hikari was told not to tell him anything. She hated that, but wanted to do no harm to her lovely bright cousin. He was her sun, her most important person. Like her own 'Otouto', she said once to Shisui imitating Itachi.

When she was 13 Shisui had been found dead and everybody blamed Itachi. She tried to speak with him, but he only sit next to her watching the leaves of the trees move with the wind. Something was bad. Once he looked like he was going to tell her something, but Sasuke-kun came and took all his attention.

Then the Uchiha massacre happened. Sasuke was left alone like her. She had found him on her way to the compound, she was going there because she felt that something was wrong. Years passed and she couldn't still understand why Itachi would do that.

At first she couldn't believe it, Sasuke told her all what he saw and what his brother said to him. It wasn't right. But she couldn't do anything. It was the first time she felt really useless and heartbroken. She was really small when her parents left, she could remember a little stuff but it was hard to her to access to her memories. This… she couldn't understand, and maybe never will. But she'll ask Itachi-Nii when she see him again, she was sure of that.

When Naruto became genin, she became jonin. Now, at 14 She had grown a bit – but still average height, 5.25 feet – her hair was long tied with a ponytail, with bangs to the side and she had more freckles than ever. She had grown to love them. Jiraiya san had told her that they were like a universe of freckles, kinda of cheeky, but it made her feel better about herself. Some years before she had learned he was Naruto's and hers Godfather, and created some kind of bond. He told her that her parents were fine, he –somehow- kept contact with them. She was mad at first, but understood that it was for her safety (though it still hurt like hell). The brightness and nerdiness subsided, sometimes she was an insufferable know all. But she had more friends now. She used to help Jonin Sensei Sparring with the teams, while she learned from them. She had befriended Shikamaru, with whom she played Go but almost everytime lose, and Neji Hyuuga. She liked sparring with him, the Hyuuga Style was so flawless, like dancing.

She used to watch Naruto's team train but she didn´t help like she did with other Sensei. Kakashi didn't like people meddling with his teaching. He was actually not a very good team sensei, she tought, he put so much effort in Sasuke, and in Naruto, that he used to dismiss the little pink haired girl Sakura. So she used to spar with her Sakura girl first out of pity, but then because it was fun. She was her first female friend, since she was sort of an outcast because of her story and rank. She knew Kakashi could be a difficult sensei, he had been training her since she became Chuunin but it was actually a secret, so she knew him well enough. He was a very lazy person, but he still prepared her to be a Jonin teaching nature jutsu and helping developing her own technique, the _Fire arrow_. She felt he didn't wanted to teach her anything, but he felt obligated with her because of something she didn't know.

One day Jiraiya Sama came to the village and Hikari was called to the Hokage Tower. Sandaime said that she was going to leave with him because she had some extra training to do. She figured it had to do with something she felt inside her every time, it was something that was trapped in some sort of fuinjutsu, just like Naruto had the Kyuubi. She had only asked two times about it, once to Kakashi, and the other to Hiruzen, but she got no answer. This was it, she needed to know.

"Do you know the legend of the Sage of Six Paths and his brother?" Sandaime asked, and the kunoichi nodded. "It happens to be that there was also a sister, and I believe you don't know the Namikaze prophecy". She didn't understand what he was talking about.

"_One day a daughter of the Namikaze Clan will be born and she will be the reincarnation of that one that couldn't love, and had to suffer the curse of her and his bothers' mother. The Lady of the Beasts"._

**Authors note**

**There it is, Hikari Story. I believe next chapter will finish her introduction. This is an AU fic, but with most of the Cannon events, you'll see. Part 2 will be completely AU (kinda hehe)**

**Thanks for your patience! Arigato Bella Hikari**


	3. Hikari Takishima

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own Naruto**

**Recap:**

**"Do you know the legend of the Sage of Six Paths and his brother?" Sandaime asked, and the kunoichi nodded. "It happens to be that there was also a sister, and I believe you don't know the Namikaze prophecy". She didn't understand what he was talking about.**

**"_One day a daughter of the Namikaze Clan will be born and she will be the reincarnation of that one that couldn't love, and had to suffer the curse of her and his bothers' mother. The Lady of the Beasts"._**

* * *

"The Lady of the Beasts?" Hikari asked "Who's her?"

"She was the sister of Hagoromo and Hamura Ōtsutsuki, Kokoro Ōtsutsuki, third daughter of Kaguya, the Goddess" Sandaime started "And her story is a bit tragic one, please both of you have a seat" continued to ask Jiraiya and the Kunoichi.

"Many centuries ago, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had three kids, they had different features: both sons had dojutsus, one the Sharingan and the other the Byakugan, and the daughter had a great affinity with nature energy, she was a natural Sage. She could 'tame' the beasts, as you could say. The legend says that she fell in love with a human, just like her mother. He was one of Hagoromo's friends who was taught with chakra use, his name was Takato. When her mother learnt that they were happy together she was already with her plan to return all the chakra to her, and she remembered how much she suffered because of the human that was her son's and daughter's father, so she went mental. Then the battle between the sons and mother begun and in some point Kokoro and Takato joined. She could tame the tailed beast for a while, but when it was almost the end of the fight her mother regained the control of the Juubi who attacked the couple. The two brothers watched in horror how their imouto and their friend (who had tried to save her) were pierced through by one of the Ten Tails' tail. That's when they sealed the beast on their bodies and Kaguya was defeated. While Hamura tended Kokoro and Takato's wounds, Hagoromo divided the Juubi into nine beasts. The beasts step next to the Sage, while watching how the Ōtsutsuki Hime and her loved one rest and bid their goodbyes. The tale says that they felt shame and hurt that they killed them until these days, and that's part of their sealed anger"

"What a sad story! So the beasts feel bad about killing them? But they were being controlled by Kaguya, it wasn't their fault" Hikari said when Sandaime finished the story "I believe there is an ancient Uchiha tale about a Princess Kokoro and her lover Takato, who died defending humanity from her mother's madness, but I didn't think it could be actually true".

"This is classified information, most people know the tale of Kaguya and her sons, but never heard of the daughter, and that's because of the prophecy I told you" Hiruzen said thoughtfully "The Brothers hid the information only to be known by their families, in a point of the history the legend came to Senju and Uchiha clans, but the heads of the clans knew the full story. I've learnt it from Tobirama Sensei before I was named Hokage".

"When was this prophecy made?" The kunoichi asked again, she was full of questions and finally getting some response, so she'd take advantage of that. "Sandaime sama, that's why my parents left me? I am a Namikaze female, and I believe I am the first one that was born. Does this mean I have something to do with Kokoro?"

"Your parents went to Suna when they learned they were having you. In Suna the passed as Takishima people so no one could be suspicious. When you were three they felt something haunting you, some dark force. They thought you were in danger and moved back to Konoha. The night Naruto was born you faced the Kyuubi by yourself because you had awoken Kokoro's chakra. You are positively her reincarnation Hikari. We had to cast a fuinjutsu in you so that chakra couldn't be used or sensed and that was after getting your memories read because you were the only witness of everything. That's how we know what you did, and what you can do. The Kyuubi attacked you, I believe out of guilt, but that's not for sure. You have to go with Jiraiya to be trained in Sage arts, so you can control that chakra. Also I think it's best for you to get out from Konoha with him than to be active shinobi, we always thought that dark force will be still looking for you".

Once the Sandaime finished he gave her an official mission scroll, and bid his goodbyes to them, wishing her good luck.

* * *

"So you're stucked with me Kid" Jiraiya said with a grin

"I guess so… but please do not be that perverted ero-sennin while I'm here. I may send you to Konoha back with a huge fireball. And NO ICHA ICHA!" she took the tiny book from his hands. "You really are perverted, I guess that's why you never married or had children" said to him with malice.

"You know you are like a daughter to me, don't you?" Jiraiya asked rhetorically to her feigning feeling hurt "You'll have to cope with this brave, handsome and cool father figure I am for you, we'll be travelling a long way" continued with a cool aura.

"What a good parent figure you are, you appeared when I was twelve and told me that my parents said Hi, you bastard" She answered. She was really harsh when she wanted. "Do you remember? I tried to hit you"

"Yeah, I do" he said touching his head remembering

_FLASH BACK_

_"You must be Hikari Takishima" a white haired man said to her_

_"Who asks that information?" Hikari said looking up, she was seating near the Nakano River meditating. She used to do that, to honor Shisui's memory._

_"I am Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, and actually your godfather" the man stated proudly._

_"YOU WHAT?" she screamed throwing to hell all her meditation._

_"Your godfather, also Naruto, but we can't tell him. Your parents picked me because I was your Uncle and dad's sensei. I trained Minato in a genin team and Kei when he got to be a Chuunin like you. By the way he says Hi" Jiraiya added._

_Hikari was speechless for a moment "YOU BASTARD WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING!? YOU SAW MY PARENTS!? THE ONES THAT DON'T CONTACT ME, AND YOU SIMPLY SAY 'THEY SAY HI'!?" she shouted with her Sharingan activated and spinning and a dangerous aura surrounding her. And without thinking she launched herself to the old man. Of course she was no rival to him in any way, but she was blinded with rage and he didn't expect her reaction. Man he was so bold sometimes! He dodge easily but he didn't see she was aiming to a big rock that was behind him, and with her fire arrow she hit it and it broke, falling in his head. When he started to cry and shout in pain like a teenage boy she stopped on her tracks. He was a really odd man._

_"OW, OW, OW! You're really mean Hikari-Chan, you've got your mother's temper" he whined._

_"How would I know?" she spat the words with hatred and hurt. At least she wasn't shouting and the aura and sharingan had faded._

_"I'm sorry for saying things like that. I'm like Konoha's outside intel, that's why I keep contact with your parents. They ask for you and I talk to the Sandaime. We thought it was better for you to not know, for your safety. They will come back once everything is Ok." He apologized._

_"Everything? Both clans, Uchiha and Takishima were wiped out, when would it be? When Konoha is Clanless?" she answer still mad._

_"I get you're angry, and I don't blame you. But as a shinobi you should understand that sometimes there are things beyond our knowledge and the threats are not always what we think." He offered his fist to amend things. She watched him carefully, he was being truthful and looked that he felt bad because of what happened to her. "Things shouldn't have to be like this, you deserved a family, Naruto too." He added._

_Hikari felt her face wet, and lift her fist to bump it with him._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

"Whatever" she tried to sound cool too, but her smile betrayed her and they both burst into laughter.

"Don't worry kid, you'll have a mother figure too… HEY DON'T HIT ME AGAIN I WAS TALKING SERIOUSLY" he yelled when she stopped in her tracks and a black aura surrounded her as her forehead vein was about to pop "I'm not going to bring you next to any of my lady friends, we'll actually we will be with my friend, Tsuna Chan."

"Tsuna, as in Tsunade Senju, the Slug Sannin?" Hikari was shocked "I heard she was abroad".

"Yes kid, told ya, we'll be travelling a long way"

They reached the town where Tsunade and Shisune were staying. The Senju heiress didn't want to know anything about this prophecy thing or whatsoever. But she was asked not only by that big toad of his ex-teammate but also by her former sensei and actual Hokage.

The moment she met Hikari, she reminded her of her father, that silly kid that tried to learn stuff like Orochimaru. She thought of all the loss the girl had to suffer and something melt inside her (a tiny bit of the iceberg she built when Dan and Nawaki died). She was a strong girl, and she thought the world needed strong woman to take a lead. She decided to help her.

Months came by and Hikari trained Sage mode, she could enable it but was still difficult to control because of her chakra seal. Jiraiya worked with her too on fuinjutsu, and they could change the seal to a more permeable one, so that she could access to the Ōtsutsuki chakra a bit more fluently.

Hikari learned that the old Toad Sennin, Gamamaru, was the one to make her prophecy a really long time ago and also made another one of another child who will find the peace the shinobi world needed. She instantly thought of Naruto. They used to write to each other weekly. She also wrote Sakura.

Master Jiraiya had to go to Konoha because of the Chuunin exams, and stayed there helping Naruto. Her cousin told her in his letters that he was very thrilled to be training seriously, and that he will be the next Hokage (Dattebayo!). Also Sakura wrote and told her that she was afraid because Sasuke-kun was attacked by Orochimaru during the 2nd stage of the exam and that she felt useless. She reassured her that she was still learning, and that one day she will find her Shishou who will teach her fine.

She wasn't allowed to go to Konoha, because she was still training and the village was chaos, so she stayed with Tsunade and Shizune and continued learning some of the basics of healing jutsu.

Then Orochimaru invaded the village, and killed Sandaime Sama. She had to stay with the Slug Sannin for her safety but she hated being unable to do anything.

When Ero-sennin came back he did it with Naruto. Hikari was so pleased to see him! He had grown a bit the past year. They came to convince Tsunade-sama to be the Godaime Hokage, but she refused. Then she fought Orochimaru and decided that she had to do it, was her duty as the last Senju.

They all came back to Konoha: Jiraiya, Naruto, Tsunade, Shizune and Hikari. Sasuke was gone, and the Rookies couldn't bring him back. Jiraiya decided to train Naruto too and with Hikari the three of them travelled together for 2 and a half years.

Before leaving Konoha, Hikari spoke to Sakura. She told her that the hurt she felt for Sasuke will fade sometime, but now was the time to think of her. She needed to find her Nindo, her Shishou, and encouraged her to speak with Tsunade-Sama. When Hikari learnt she had accepted Sakura as her disciple, after some words with her teacher, she left Konoha in peace to train.

* * *

Naruto was a hardworker, and he had good affinity with nature chakra. They used to spar and Jiraiya just sit and watched, or wrote. At 17 Hikari could master the Sage mode. When she used the senjutsu she gain two shadows over her eyes that looked like butterfly wings, and were plum purple. Her irises change to a yellow to orange sunburst-like color and the pupil had that 'minus sing' shape. At that age she made a contract with the toads to be her summons just like Jiraiya and then Naruto. She had a full mature 3 tomoe sharingan and trained with that too.

As the years went by, the finally travelled back to Konoha. Naruto Being 15 and she 19. They stayed in the village and Ero-Sennin continued his journeys looking for Akatsuki. They found Sakura who was now a Chuunin medic-nin with unnatural physical strength. She was really happy to see them again and used to hang out at the ramen stand were the talked to catch up.

Hikari started to work for the Godaime with Shisune and Sakura. One day she was bringing a bottle of sake to her teacher (that was one of her lame jobs) and as she opened the door heard something that broke his heart: Jiraiya was dead. A loud crash made by a broken sake bottle made everyone turn their attention to her.

She felt numb, and her eyes burned, hot tears started to flow. Not him, not Jiraiya. His bright goofy smile appeared in her mind and hurt like hell. It hurt, her eyes, her heart, her body.

"Don't let her go far, don't let her awake her Mangekyo!" Tsunade screamed, and Kakashi who was in the office started to run as Hikari use Hirashin to disappear from view (she had learnt that technique by herself, she remembered her Uncle doing it, and also she found an old scroll with the technique basis). He finally found her with her fist bloody and broken in front of a huge beaten tree, crying hard and surrounded by a violet and dense chakra.

"WHY?" she shouted, "WHAT KIND OF SANNIN WAS HE THAT HE WAS DEFEATED. THAT BASTARD CAN'T BE DEAD" she felt Kakashi behind her and turned to look at him. "Why everybody leaves me?" she said in a foreign voice. He could see that her Sharingan evolved, the three tomoes turned into a trisquel and another three smaller ones appeared in between its curves. The chakra surrounding her started to make her hair flow up, and she also started to flow. She had broken the seal, de Mangekyo had done it. The air was dense and a lot of animals started to appear through the Death Forrest, and earth started to rumble. Kakashi tried to talk to her and proceeded to use an emergency seal that the Toad Sannin had left in case she went wild. He blocked her chakra completely and knocked her out. Then he took her to the Hospital.

After all this happened, Tsunade decided to send Hikari to the Toads dimension to train how to use her energy without snapping, she had to practice Sage Mode and also train with her Mangekyo activated using Ōtsutsuki chakra. Naruto Joined later to learn the Sage Mode.

* * *

Pain attacked Konohagure and Naruto made it in time to save the day, she couldn't go – not that he needed her help- because she was still unstable and people couldn't find out her status as a reincarnation. Naruto almost loses but he met his father inside him, he told her later. She cried with him when he told her about her uncle Minato. Now she could speak frankly with him. He also told her that he talked Nagato (the real Pain, who happened to be Jiraiya's Ame student) and made him revive everybody. She was so proud of her little, well not so little anymore, cousin.

* * *

One day she was outside the toad's dimension, sparring with Gamakichi when she felt something she thought she'll never feel again: Itachi's Chakra. She was taken aback with the sight of him, in an Akatsuki Cloak. He looked thin and pale, but kept that cool façade she used to love and admire.

"Itachi-nii" she whispered

"Hi Kari-chan" he smiled tiredly "Long time no see"

"Gamakichi could you please leave us for a moment, don't worry, he's not going to hurt me" Hikari asked the toad, who eyed Itachi and then left "I'll give you five minutes" he said while leaving.

"Aren't you too full of yourself to think that I won't hurt you?" Itachi said playfully.

"No, it's not that. You are running low on chakra, you're tired and pale. Looks like you're sick. And also, if you wanted to kill me you could have done it before" she noted.

"Always bright, my little Hikari-nee chan. It's true, I'm ill. There's no cure for my disease. I shall be dead soon, because Sasuke must kill me" the Uchiha said like if he was talking of the weather.

"You have a suicide wish? Why are you here then? Go and embrace death as you want" she spat.

"I wanted one last spar with you." Itachi simply answered. There was pain in his eyes, but not physical. It was something else.

"So be it" and she charged to him sharingan activated. They engage on a fight that was full of emotion, fireballs collided, she used her fire arrow, and could scratch his cheek, but he was still too powerful. He was her Itachi after all. He tried to cast a genjutsu on her which she repelled. Kunai and shurinken flew. And then he activated his Mangekyo. It was the first time she saw it.

"Did you kill Shisui?" she wondered looking at his beautiful eyes as they both were kneeled on the grass regaining composture. She didn't realize she had her Mangekyo activated too.

"No, I didn't." He said while getting up "He killed himself for me to gain these eyes. He made me believe that I killed him, they activated and then jumped off the cliff near the Nakano river. I was heartbroken. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you about it... I just couldn't" He said, and then looked her playing real attention to her own dojutsu as she too got up. "You… why?"

"Jiraiya." She answered, she knew he was asking about how she gained the Mangekyo. "He was my godfather and teacher. Hell, he was like my father!" she could feel the tears in her eyes now. She had to ask him, all that pain he created... "WHY? WHY DID YOU DO IT, YOUR CLAN?"

"Do you still trust me?" he asked for the first time in long time doubtful of the answer.

She took her time, watched him profoundly. He was in pain, he needed to tell her, but he needed her trust. "Yes."

"Then let me show you" and his Mangekyo swirled. He showed her the plot the Uchiha had planned, the orders from Konoha, Shisui's death, Danzo's words, Madara Uchiha, aka Tobi. Everything.

When it was over, both where crying. She run and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry, you didn't have to go through all of that" she cried "Itachi-kun you deserved better". He returned her hug.

"I missed the way you said my name" he whispered smiling into her soft hair. "I have to go now. I have to face Sasuke." He said as he released her.

"You know, I always liked you. You were my fist crush" she said shyly.

"I knew." he smiled in the most tender way Hikari had ever seen."I liked you too, but realized that too late. It was when Shisui died, and you already loved me as a brother" he confessed. "If anything of this had happened, I think I would have confessed to you, even I you thought of me as family" Her cheeks went bright pink and she felt her heart skip a beat. She felt a new tear falling through her cheek. He walked to her and poke her forehead like he used to do with Sasuke when he was little. "Mata kondo da" he said and kissed the tear in her cheek.

"Itachi-nii" she whispered one last time, caresing the cheek where his lips had just been while he walked backwards, still looking at her. With a smile he vanished leaving her crying, but feeling lighter than ever.

* * *

Later she learned that Sasuke had successfully killed Orochimaru and also Itachi. She was sad for the elder Uchiha, but somehow their past encounter made her grief more bearable. Sasuke was their problem now, he was working under Akatsuki. He tried to kill Sakura. He was out of his mind.

And then it all started, the Fourth Shinobi War. Madara Uchiha, Obito Uchiha was alive as well. The Hokages came back. She saw her uncle Minato again and run to hug him. He tried to speak with her but when he could manage to say 'How big and Beautiful you've become my niece' and ' I'm sorry for leaving you' Tobirama-sama coughed and say there was no time for a formal family reunion killing the mood.

She fought side by side with team 7 and the Hogakes while Madara was the Juubi Jinchuriki, her Ōtsutsuki chakra complete hidden. That was a good choice, because later Kaguya Ōtsutsuki revived when Madara awoke the Holly Chakra Tree. She fought Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Obito and Sasuke and they traveled to other dimension. Al the people that remained at the battlefield was absorbed by the holly tree roots except for her and the four edo-tensei Hokages. Suddenly a white smoke appeared from the tree and gained the form of an old man who told them that he was the Six Path Sage Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. Hikari felt something ship inside her as she saw the old man, an ancient feeling of longing.

He told everybody what was going on, and then he addressed to Hikari.

"My dear Imouto, you don't know how happy it makes me feel to see you safe. This isn't your fight though that's why I managed to keep you here in this dimension. This is all my fault, and my sons will have to make amends to seal mother again." Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki said.

She was stunned to hear that man talk to her like that, but then it felt right. "Hagoromo sama, why this does red moon not affect me? Why the tree doesn't attack? Tell me please". She begged.

"It's for your Ōtsutsuki nature chakra, it somehow prevented you the danger since you are a Sage and are in tune with earth's energy, moon included. You must know what happened with my heritage to understand what's going on" and he then told them the tale of Indra and Ashura, they learnt how Naruto was Ashura's reincarnation and Sasuke was Indra's, just like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were them in their time. "I'm so sorry Imouto that I couldn't save both of you back in our time. And I couldn't help my children. I was an utter failure. But you and them were given a chance, please use it well".

Hikari gave some thought at his words. "You don't have to be sorry Hagoromo-Nii, I somehow feel it, the bond with you. I may not be actually Kokoro, but her reincarnation, and I feel you like my brother. Maybe that's why I cared so much for Naruto besides him being my cousin. We are actually family in spirit. My mission is to protect Kokoro's nephew in some way. I don't have her memories, but I feel it, you don't have to be sorry because she, I, love you brother. Hamura too". She said with a knot in her throat.

Time passed as they had to wait for news of the fight. She used this time to talk with Minato Ojisan and the Hokages.

"You've grown a lot" Minato said sheepishly.

"I'm 20 now uncle" she smiled sadly. "I became a Jonin of Konoha, I took care of Naruto as I could. I had that Ero-Sennin as a father figure. I kept in touch with my parents through him, though it was an occasional thing. They are hidden in other continent." She added "I have many flaws. I'm stubborn, I always want to be and do right, I had bad temper. But in spite of all of that I had he best friends one can ever ask."

"I'm so sorry we couldn't watch you grow, you and Naruto. We had a lot of plans and dreams for you both, and for us." Minato's eye got wet, he didn't know an Edo Tensei could cry.

"It's funny, it seems I'm always missing people" she said with irony. "But that's the shinobi life right?" tears falling now "it hurts like shit".

The other Hokages and Hagoromo Sama looked at them sympathetically. Maybe if things had been different, they would be in another present with less pain and loss.

Minato hugged her niece, and said no more. Words weren't need.

Finally Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi y Sasuke appeared. They had defeated Kaguya and Black Zetsu. That's when the Six Path Sage told Hikari that Black Zetsu was kind of their "fourth brother", Kaguya's ill will. It was spat by her moments after him and Hamura sealed her in the past. It was the one that corrupted Indra's and Madara's mind. He was the source of the curse of hatred of the Uchiha. With that revelation she and Sasuke opened their eyes wide. And it hit her.

"Was he the black force that haunted me and my family?" she asked, almost knowing the answer.

"Yes, he was. But now he's gone, you're free to use your power if you want to" The sage said.

Hashirama bid her goodbyes to Madara, who was barely still alive. Hikari heard the elder Uchiha last minute redemption and felt sorry for him. That damned Zetsu ruined everybody's lives. Then the Kages had to leave, for they couldn't stay longer in this reality. The said their good byes and their souls were released, Minato smiled at her, and then turned to his son smiling harder. He wished Naruto a Happy Birthday.

Everything was going to be ok, but suddenly Sasuke happened, he wanted to kill the Kages, enslave the Bijuus and cut his bonds with Naruto definitely. They fought their final battle, like brothers, like the sons of Hagoromo. In the end her cousin won, as it should be and Indra/Sasuke's curse of hatred was broken. The war was over.

* * *

After the war, Hikari was appointed to check on the tailed beast using Kokoro's Chakra, she had to move next to Kumo, because she also trained with Bee the chakra control. She lived there for almost two years. One day met a shinobi, Umino kun, a regular young man, they spent an awfully amount of time together. Some months later somehow she fell in love with him. They were together for almost one and a half years, but they eventually broke apart because he tended to focus only on him and his problems, and she had a lot to handle. He also couldn't stand her being in a higher rank than him. Don't get her wrong, he was important to her because he was her first boyfriend, but she was getting tired of him and his issues. It got worse when Hikari met her parents again.

She was meditating outside the village – she had had a fight with Umino – and felt two presences approaching. She tried to remember those chakra signature, they felt oddly familiar. And when she opened her eyes they were there. Her mom, a tall brunette Uchiha-like woman with some gray hairs and a face similar to hers –without the exaggerate amount of freckles – and her dad, a tall blue eyed man who had blond gold hair as her uncle Minato. They were smiling at her widely.

She got up and started to tremble, then she started to cry to finally fell to her knees. They run to hug her.

"Oh my child, we're here, you're here! You've grown so much, We missed you" both parents said alternating themselves. "The menace is gone, you're safe now, we can be a family again".

Hikari was for the first time in her life speechless. She started to hyperventilate and her parents soothe her. When she was feeling better she spoke, barely audible: "Why did it take you so long to find me? I missed you guys like hell".

* * *

Her parents moved to her house for some time. They didn't like her 'boyfriend'. They thought he was a cocky spoiled brat that consumed their daughter's time with them, and that make them fight with her a lot.

One day Hikari had it: "Why do you think you have authority to say something in my life? You both weren't there!" she almost shouted. "You left me alone with my uncles and that same day they died! I was alone with Naruto and then Jiraiya appeared. You just weren't there on every important and dreadful moment of my life!" she said crying. "You demand spending time with me, but you don't even had the right to do so!"

"We're your parents and we want what's better for you, we always had" Her mom said calmly.

"Well it seems like you really don't know me, so how could you know what's the best for me?" she reacted.

"We know this boy isn't right for you, and him being your first love doesn't make it special"his dad said trying to make a point.

"He's just interfering with your training and doesn't pay attention to you. He doesn't even care what you want or even who you are" Her mum continued hashly her husband's train of thought. Then she started to regain composture.

"WE BROKE UP OKAY!? Are you happy? I'm not stupid, I wasn't feeling all right with this relationship, I cherish myself and won't be in a place that I'm not loved or valued." She snapped.

Her parents fell silent. She was right, they weren't there for her almost all of her life but they loved her. She was a young woman now, a 22 year old woman actually. They couldn't manage her life. But the thought of this Umino guy gone from her life felt so good.

"We're sorry daughter" her dad said.

"We just feel you deserve better" her mom added

"It's Ok. I know it's difficult for you too. And I don't think I've really loved him. He wasn't even my first love you know? Itachi kun was" and she started to tell them her story with Itachi. Her mother was full of tears when she ended.

"Oh my poor girl, we're sorry you have to go through that" she said, and hugged her daughter.

"Mum, you're crushing me" she giggled softly, tears still on her eyes.

"We are really sorry of everything that has happened. We were afraid, but we should have done better. W-we,," her father said and couldn't continue.

"You did what you can" Hikari said firmly looking at them. "You thought I'd be better, and somehow I was. You simply can't control life so nothing can harm me."

"Jiraiya did a great job" Kei said proudly, with tears in his eyes.

"Yes, he did." the girl said, fighting the tears on her eyes. She wans't used to speak about him, it still hurt. "Umm, I have to go back to Konoha, I've finished my training, and I have to check on Kurama and Shukaku they're the last ones." Hikari calmed herself

"We'll go with you. Don't worry and do what you need to do" Her mother said smiling to her. With that Hikari left them to start packing.

Her parents traveled with her to report the Rokudaime Hokage, Hatake Kakashi. They had taken the mission of being representatives in Kumo, because they knew the Raikage – that's how they learnt Hikari lived there.

In Konoha she introduced them to Sakura, and they were delighted of her being friends with Hikari. They also spent an awfully amount of time with their nephew Naruto. They were a month in the village catching up, and they also paid their respects to Itachi's tomb and the Uchiha Memorial. By the end of that time they had to go back to Kumo.

Watching her parents go again didn't feel bad this time. She knew they were fine and where they would be. She loved to spend time with them, but it was good to have some space and also the journey to Kiri was five days long, so she could visit them whenever she wanted. They felt bad staying in Konoha, it brought too many sad memories. She had a hard time trying to understand it, but she did. The memories some times could be painful.

* * *

Some months later, the village was attacked by another Ōtsutsuki, Toneri. He had kidnapped Hanabi Hyuuga and wanted to marry Hinata. A team formed by Naruto, Shikamaru, Sai, Sakura and Hikari went to the moon to help.

They met Hamura Ōtsutsuki and Hikari felt the same like when she encountered Hagoromo.

"Dear Imouto, I'm so pleased to see you!" he said in a voice full of emotion. "I may have not been able to save you, but I am going to make a gift to you, and also your pink hared friend here. You both deserve to be happy" And as a white light engulfed Hikari and Sakura, they were pushed down in time space, almost a hundred years in the past.

******* Authors Note*******

**So this is a long Chapter, but I've finished with Hikari, and we are in present time now. This is where everything starts. Next Chapter I'll be writing Sakura, don't worry ;)**

**Hope you like it!**


	4. Sakura Haruno

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own Naruto**

* * *

"Who do you think you are? With that ugly forehead and that strange hair you are a freak! You'll never be a ninja! You're just a joke!" sadly, Haruno Sakura was used to hear that. She was a 6 year old girl who just wanted to become a shinobi, nothing more. She was picked on at the academy every day since she started going.

Boy she hated her forehead! She let her bangs grow just to hide it.

One day her three personal bullies intercepted her near the playground. "You use such big bangs to cover your forehead because you already know you're ugly" a freckled fat boy shouted and started pulling her hair. "Hey guys, wanna check if it's like cotton candy?" continued as he pulled harder.

"What are you doing?" a voice came from the trees near the swings.

* * *

Hikari was coming back from a mission and used her shortcut through the park to intercept Naruto on his way back home. She was thinking on buying him Ramen because they weren't seeing each other as much as she wanted and he needed, when she felt someone flare a bit of chakra, and some kids shouting. When she saw the scene just wanted to kick those kids' asses, sure she was a kid too, but also a 10 year old Chuunin, and a proud ninja of the Leaf, so she couldn't allow this bullying to happen.

"What are you doing?" she said from the trees near the swings.

The kids were taken aback by her shinobi vest, but they underestimated her. "NOT YOUR BUSSINESS PAL" the freckled boy shouted.

"It is my business because this little girl is crying, you're pulling her hair and you're being a bully… and guess what?" she asked. "What?" the boy said a bit nervous.

"I don't like bullies" dead serious, she faced the three boys with her sharingan activated, sending a killing aura.

She jumped and landed between the pink haired girl and them. The boys wanted to run but she caught them in a genjutsu. It was a harmless one, to show them what it would be like to be bullied. She knew it wasn't right to cast genjutsu on six year's old, but they needed a lesson and it was only a minute of torture. They awoke from the bulling fantasy crying hard, and she threw three shurinken that landed next to their feet.

"Are you still going to bully this kid?" she asked to test them. They froze and couldn't answer. "You know, to bully says more about you than the person you mistreat. It says that you are an insecure person, that has more hate than love in your heart and also that you are unworthy to be a shinobi because you don't have any honor".

The kids sobbed harder, and mumbling a pathetic 'sorry' they run away.

Hikari was satisfied with this reaction, and turn to see the girl who was with her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open too looking at her. She offered a hand to help her get up.

"Th-thank you" she said sweetly "they were being really mean, I'm used to that, but today I was feeling sad so I couldn't handle it" continued swallowing hard.

"What happened that you were sad?" the elder girl asked walking with Sakura to the swings to seat.

"Mom and dad left on a mission and tomorrow it's my birthday" a small tear came down through her right cheek. Mebuki and Hizashi Haruno were Chuunin of Konoha that were off duty right now, but as they were born in a merchant household, the still did some missions to help them not to get robbed. "My parents have to be bodyguards of the daimyō's favorite merchant, that's why they couldn't say no"

"I understand, it's sad to be alone on your birthday" Hikari said with melancholy, she hadn't had a birthday with her parents since six years ago. She missed them badly. But she had Naruto, her beloved cousin. She was not alone, but then again he didn't have parents. It was almost like they were alone together. The little girl watched with curiosity. "I'm Hikari Takishima, what's your name kid?"

"Sakura Haruno" at least she didn't stutter now, and wasn't crying. "Where you alone on your birthday too?"

"Very perceptive Sakura-chan! Sadly yes, I was. I haven't seen my parents since I was younger than you. They have to leave the village for their and mine safety. Did your parents tell you the story about what happened in Konoha when you were a baby?"

"yes, they told me that a tailed beast attacked and the Yondaime died protecting the Village" She said proudly, thinking of the fourth head on the Hokage mount, his daddy used to tell her shinobi stories before going to bed.

"Well, that's not everything that happened. My Clan, Takishima, was entirely wiped out by some Uchihas extremist. That happened the same day the Kyuubi attacked. That's why I was left alone, well actually I was left with my uncles, but they died during the attack, and that same night my cousin Naruto was born" She wasn't lying, she was only telling the truth without saying who her uncle was. There was this hateful order of not telling Naruto anything, not even his heritage! She hated herself so much for going along with that, but orders were orders.

"Your Clan was murdered!?" Sakura jumped trying to reason why anybody would do that. "I'm so sorry! And here I am whining about my parents being on a mission, but you have suffered more"

"Hey! Don't worry about that, I have Naruto and I'm a Kunoichi. That suffering made me what I am today. I was bullied too you know?" Hikari Stated. Sakura couldn't believe her, so she told her more: "when I was at the academy, I was very bright and I became friends with Uchiha Itachi. The girls hated me because both things and started a rumor that I was a person that brought bad luck to everybody close to me, that's why my parents left me, the clan was massacred and my baby cousin was parentless. They were harsh, and I cried a lot. But my friends Itachi and Shisui talked to me and told me that they were just jealous. I believed them, though it was hard for me, and continued training really hard. And that's why I'm a Chuunin at 10 years old. I want to be strong to help my cousin, my parents and protect this village so there won't be any more parentless children."

Sakura looked at her with pride; she could overcome the bulling and became a fine kunoichi. She felt something ignite in her, she was bright too, if she could surpass this feeling of being ugly and useless maybe someday…

"Oh, the sun is setting! Naruto is waiting for me! I have to go Sakura-chan, please take care and be brave. Want me to walk you home?" Hikari asked

"It's ok, I live one block from here" Sakura answered "Thank you very much for your help Hikari-chan, I hope I can see you soon" and with a waving hand to the elder girl she run to her house.

The next day her bullies didn't attack her, but she still heard some girls calling her ugly. She sat on the swings with her bangs covering her puffy eyes. What an awful birthday, she was in high spirits in the morning and then they blew up everything.

"Hey there, why are you crying pinkie?" she heard another girl asking. She looked so cool, blond with blue pupil-less eyes and a casual attitude.

"I'm ugly" she simply answered

"Oh, and that's why you hide your face with all that hair?" the blonde continued. Sakura shook her head in an affirmative way. "I'm Ino by the way, and you shouldn't be crying, all the flowers have to blossom someday, but before that they are tiny saplings. It's like in the Ugly duckling story. Here."

Sakura raised her head and saw that the girl was giving her a red ribbon. "Put this and uncover that face of yours" Ino said. Sakura tried to complain "But my forehead is so big…", "Bite me" Ino interrupted "your beautiful hair and eyes compensate that, you're just an exotic beautiful flower, now don't be rude and tell me your name"

"It's Sakura" she answered while putting the ribbon and uncovering her face.

"Ok Sakura, I gotta go to my mum's shop. See you tomorrow at the academy, you must use the ribbon or I'll get mad with you. We can have lunch together and talk about lifting that selfsteem, that's what friends are for" Ino chuckled and left a disoriented Sakura… "_Friend"_ she thought.

"Hey Sakura Chan!" a familiar voice greeted her. Hikari was coming with Naruto, her classmate. "Wanna go grab some ramen? Bet you're hungry! Ahh, this is Naruto my cute little cousin" she grinned

"Hikari-nee stop embarrassing me! I know her, she's my classmate" Naruto said while his cheeks got a lovely shade of pink.

"Hi Naruto, Hikari-chan! I'd love to go" Sakura said while she giggled. They walked to Ichiraku while talking about the academy and the shinobi life. This was the first time she actually spoke with Naruto, he was sort of an outcast and punk at school because he had something inside him that he didn't know and the kids didn't want to be near him. Her father had told her that he had the tailed beast sealed inside him, but they couldn't tell him. That's why everybody hated him, and he didn't know. She felt sorry for him, and realized that he didn't deserve that, but she still didn't talk to him at school. Now she saw he was so happy next to his cousin and shouting that he was going to be a Hokage that she felt proud of him too. "_He's suffered so much too, but still smiles. Guess that's a family treat. I'm so stupid, I shouldn't care what other thinks, and I'm gonna be his friend like Ino-Chan is with me" _she thought.

They arrived to Ichiraku and ate two bowls of ramen each, and then…

"Happy Birthday Sakura!" Naruto and Hikari greeted while throwing some serpentines to her. The owner brought a cake with a candle in it and started to sing the happy birthday song with them.

She didn't realize she was crying, until Naruto hugged her. "Don't cry please, you're not alone" he said. Sakura looked at him and then at Hikari. She must have told him her story.

"I'm Okay Naruto chan, I'm not sad, these are tears of joy" and he released her so she could blow the candle.

"That's a lovely red ribbon you have there" Hikari said

"Oh yes, my friend Ino gave it to me. I met her today and she cheered me up. She offered to help me with my selfsteem because I feel ugly" Sakura said

"You're not ugly" Naruto whisper barely audible and looked to the other side embarrassed. Hikari heard him –though Sakura didn't- and continued the conversation "It's good to know you made another friend today, you can count on us too you know?" Sakura beamed with joy.

They spent the rest of the evening talking cheerfully, and then Naruto and Hikari walked her home.

In her living room her parents were expecting her. "We just came to the Village and saw you with some friends at Ichiraku, Oh Sakura; we were so sad we couldn't be here that the Daimyō realized that and asked us what happened. He sent us back to be here with you, we'll go back to him tomorrow, because part of the mission is done -deliver the merchant safely to him-. You don't know how happy it made us to see you have friends!" Her mother said.

"You looked so happy that we couldn't interrupt you, so we expected you here. Bet you're not hungry but we bought you a gift" his father said handling her two packages, the first one was the best dango in the Fire Nation, and the other one was her first kunai. She started to cry again, feeling so loved by her parents of course, and by her new friends.

She will overcome everything because she had love in her heart, not like her bullies. This was the best birthday ever!

* * *

Academy continued and she kept her friendship with Ino and Naruto, though the two of them didn't stand each other. It was fun seeing both arguing about who'll spend time with her. She started to develop more guts and she defended herself so good that the bullies never acted upon her anymore.

One day she said to Ino that she liked Sasuke-kun, and that's when her friendship changed. She treated her bad, because she liked him too. But this time Sakura did not hesitate and fought her back and that was when everything got screwed. They called each other names, Ino said to Sakura "Forehead" and Sakura said to Ino "Pig". Naruto was happy though, because he got to spend more time with her.

Sasuke-kun was a bit cocky and very proud of his Uchiha heritage. He always fought with Naruto, and barely notice Sakura because to him she was clan less. She felt sad about it, but still thought she will be worthy of him someday.

They were nine when Sasuke-kun became the only Uchiha left in Konoha. His clan was massacred by his big brother, Uchiha Itachi. He became colder and nobody could get close to him.

Sakura saw Hikari days after and she was utterly sad. She couldn't speak much about what happened, she was really close to Itachi and wouldn't understand why he did that, she looked heartbroken. She said she had found Sasuke who had passed out at the gates of the Uchiha compound and there was so much blood. She tried to cheer her up, and invited to grab some ramen. The kunoichi smiled sadly at her, but accepted anyway. She didn't ask her anything, they kept each other company while eating, and then Hikari walked Sakura Home.

"Thank you Sakura, you're a good friend" this time Hikari's smile was not a sad one.

"That's what friends are for!" she beamed, and then felt a pang in her heart remembering Ino.

"Did something happen?" Hikari asked her, she notice the change in the Pink hair's mood.

"I fought with Ino, we both like Sasuke Kun. We're not friends anymore" she stated.

"Hey! Don't worry, that's only girl's fight, my schoolmates used to do that often. You'll see that soon you'll overcome this together. You just have to be patience" she ruffled Sakura's hair.

Sakura moved away feigning indignation, and then laughed. "Thank you Hikari-chan, see you soon".

Graduation day came and Sakura passed with great grades. She felt so good! And then the teams were settled, she was on team seven with her best friend Naruto and her love Sasuke-kun. They had this weird teacher, Hatake Kakashi, who underestimated them. They started going on missions with him and he always favored the boys, leaving her sometimes in the 'damsel in distress' role. She felt so useless again, Naruto was always saying he'll protect her, and Sasuke called her annoying.

One day she saw Hikari-chan (who was a Jonin now) and told her what was going on. She offered to spar with her so she could catch up. She gave her some tips, like being aware of her surroundings, and how to place explosive tags without noticing, a bit of taijutsu –some of what she had learnt while sparring with Rock Lee and Neji- and helped her with her chakra control through meditation. She was going to hide this progress to shine on the Chuunin exams in a few months. Some weeks later Hikari said that that was going to be their last spar for some time because she was leaving Konoha to train. She will send letters to her, and wanted to know how she was progressing.

During the Chuunin exams she blossomed, Sasuke-kun and Naruto were knocked out, the first one being marked by this Orochimaru thing/person. She was alone facing three Sound nin, when Rock Lee showed up, but couldn't do anything. She felt like a scared kitten. What could she do? She looked to her teammates "I'll always protect you Dattebayo" Narutos phrase echoed in her head. "Annoying" Sasuke's word hit her in her memory.

"CHAAAAAAAAA" a voice came in her head, Inner, her mind the real Sakura shouted. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING WHILE TRAINING SECRETLY YOU MORON" the voice shouted. She got up and felt a fire ignite inside her. She faced the Ninja, and launched herself to them. They all dodged, but she'd learnt from Hikari that you sometimes had to aim for other things than the target, and so she did. Jumped back and when the ninja landed where they were just minutes ago, explosive tags activated creating a huge crater and hurting them a little. Two of them ataked her with taijutsu, and she managed to dodge some punches but they were a lot stronger than her. She ended with a huge bruise on her forehead and a beaten eye. That's when one of them grabbed her from her hair. It hurt, but what hurt most were the words she said. "Sooo pretty hair, if you had spent more time training than fixin it you wouldn't be a nuisance now girl". Useless, again. She felt useless. "COME ON, DON'T GIVE UP" inner said. "_Shut up, let me concentrate" _Sakura answered. She pulled herself together and meditate for a bit. Controlling her chakra enough and figuring how much time it wil give her, she grabed a Kunai and cut her hair, making the ninja to lost her stability, and then Sakura landed an uppercut through her jaw breaking it. She hit her so hard that she felt her knuckles made a painful sound. Then she felt them, reinforcement. And Sasuke that had awoken. "Who did this to you Sakura" The madness, he was blind with rage and almost killed everybody. She hugged him from behind and calmed him down. She had fought bravely, using all her knowledge gained with her training with Hikari-chan, she had endured until help came, and then she still felt useless. She wasn't aware that Ino was watching her with pride.

During the last part of the exams she fought Ino, and it was a tie. They ended it in pretty bad shape, but the fixed her relationship. Their friendship was more important than a boy, and also Ino said to her that 'she didn't want Sasuke-kun anymore because he was scary'. She wrote everything to Hikari, who was glad of all her progress.

Then Sasuke-kun left, she confessed to him and he rejected her. He called her annoying again and knocked her out with a thank you.

With the Hokage was killed at the end of the Chuunin exams, Naruto and Jiraiya came with Tsunade-sama, her apprentice Shizune, and Hikari-chan too. But in some weeks Naruto and Hikari went away again to train. The day before leaving Hikari-chan approached her and she spoke about Sasuke.

"This hurt will eventually fade you know? The heartbreaks mend but they leave a scar that makes you stronger. You have and need to focus on yourself, to find your Nindo. You found your selfsteem, and mend the bond with Ino. That's a great start Sakura" the Jonin said.

"But what do I do now? How do I find my Nindo? I don't know where to start". The kunoichi said.

"You'll find your Shishou and she will give you the strength you think you lack" Hikari simple answered.

"She?" Sakura asked again

"Hn, you should go to speak with Lady Tsunade, maybe she'll take you as her apprentice" was the answer, and with that, Hikari left the Village.

***** Authors note*****

**Sakura's story will be two chapters long. As a review said, they feel like summaries, and they kind of are. The big story starts with the time travel.**

**I've put more of the feelings this time, and you learn about how Hikari felt with some things while she speaks to Sakura.**

**I've been thinking to do an Omake with some things about the story that maybe you would like to know, or a Fanfiction only about Hikari's background. You tell me.**

**I know some people doesn't like OCs that's why I explained everything on the first chapters.**

**Thank you AnnaDreyar and Carmen 765 for reviewing, adw125305 &angeleyes09 for favored the story and EvelynMitsuin and Carmen again for following me.**


	5. The Godaime apprentice (part 1)

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own Naruto**

**Author's quick note: I've added some stuff to the past chapters, thanks to the reviews and conversations via PM I've realized there's a lot missing. Please read them because there is huge development on Hikari story, and also on Sakura's fight with sound nin. I'll keep with the huge summary type chapters in this one too. Soon they'll be in the past. That's where everything really starts.**

* * *

Lady Tsunade was a pain in the back. Sakura had to beg to her to be taken as her apprentice. The Slug Sannin was a very lazy person when it came to responsibilities. Sakura offered to help her and Shizune, who was a very nice person, with those chores. The thought of more help, and also that Sakura could be very annoying when she really wanted something made her accept her.

"You have to read all these books during this week, and then you have to bring back to life a fish. If you'll manage that, you'll be my apprentice" The Hokage said.

Sakura was a bookworm so that was the easy part, she had everything read in three days. The thing was to revive the fish. By reading she learnt that that wasn't a thing you could do in a week, it took months. So she faced Tsunade Sama.

"I've managed to get the basics of Medical ninjutsu by reading, and I believe I will know how to mold my chakra and control it, but I have to practice, and first I need to see you doing it" Sakura said seriously to her Shishou to be.

Tsunade smirked. "Kid you have some balls, haven't you?, bring me one of those scrolls over there".

Sakura brought one and when they opened it, it had a seal that once activated it revealed a dead fish. Below the fish there was another seal she recognized from the medical books Tsunade gave her.

The Sannin put her hands over the fish and Chakra started to glow green. In a minute the fish was alive. Sakura watched in awe. "Why do you want to be a medic Nin so badly?"

'_I feel useless'_ was her first thought, but she knew that wasn't entirely true. She wanted to be useful, to help the people she loved and fought for her, and she wasn't fond of being treated like a porcelain doll. "Naruto promised to me that he would bring Sasuke-kun back and got badly hurt while trying. He was injured because of me, and I couldn't do anything. When we were ambushed by Orochimaru at the forest and he and Sasuke-kun were hurt, all I could do was to watch over them. I'm always watching him from behind, I want to walk with them shoulder to shoulder." She stated.

Tsunade looked at her, her brows up showing a bit of amusement. "Ok kid, give me your hand" Sakura did it and Tsunade held it with her palm open facing the ceiling. "Close your eyes and focus. Feel your Chakra through your body; be conscious of it flowing in you. Feel it." Sakura had her brows furrowed and was concentrating hard. "Now think of your chakra moving to this hand, going fluidly to your fingers. Then you have to visualize a change of it, it's not a chakra to fight or destroy, it's a chakra to mend, rebuild, it brings life. You got it?" Sakura Nodded slightly, she was doing a great effort. "Now relax and release it in your hand."

Sakura felt an odd shift on her body and then chakra coming out of her hand.

"Open your eyes" The Sanin said.

The pink haired kunoichi did as said and watched in awe the green glowing chakra molded in her hand. She smiled, and felt hot tears of joy falling down her cheeks. She looked up to the woman in front of her who was grinning with some pride.

"Tomorrow, 6 am sharp, training ground 3. Hope you're not like your irresponsible sensei" Tsunade said.

"Th-Thank you" the girl said and couldn't hide her joy.

"Wait until tomorrow, then you'll see if you're thankful or not" answered the Hokage mischievously. Sakura gulped hard.

Next day Sakura was 5:45 at training ground 3. She was so thrilled! Then Tsunade showed up and told her that today they'll spar so she can watch her moves and techniques. Sakura was really poor in taijutsu and didn't know any real jutsu per sé. Her new sensei made a mental note to kill Kakashi later, what a lame misogynist sensei he was!

The Slug Sannin beat the hell out of Sakura. She ended all bruised and full of dirt, but the silly girl was smiling so hard that it looked like she had lost it. Then again, the thought of being worthy of training made Sakura endure whatever the monstrous Hokage wanted to do.

And so it went, the young Kunoichi trained four days a week sparring with her Shishou early in the morning till noon; on the afternoons she went every day to the Hokage's tower to practice with the fish scroll, and at night she read thick books of anatomy, chakra paths, and medic ninjutsu.

Three months later she did it, she brought the fish back to life. Her face was the one a child has in Christmas.

"Don't get confident with one or two successes, you had to keep trying hard." Tsunade said, though she was smiling to her, eyes full of pride.

Sometime Ino showed up and wanted to train. She could learn the basics, but realized that her place was in team Ino-Shika-Chou, thanks to Sakura. For months Sakura had to read all the medic books in the Hokage tower. Her spars with her Shishou were like facing a demon. One day the woman actually threw at her baseballs with a bat, and volley balls, and basketballs.

"You've improve your moves" Tsunade said to her, stopping her fist. It had been a year of training now. Sakura was 14 now, turning to 15 in some months. "You're still skinny though, you need to develop some muscle. Don't worry, it's not that much, you only have to gain muscle mass to handle the chakra enhanced strength"

"You'll teach me that too?" the Kunoichi asked marveled.

"Of course! it's similar to the first time you manipulated healing chakra. But you need muscle so you don't hurt yourself while attacking. Do 30 series of abs, arm and legs training every day for the next month. And you have to do one leap through the border of the village every day in between". The teen almost cried.

Sakura trained hard the following month and her body had adapted fine, she had a slender figure now, not very curvy –sadly for her, still flat chested- but athletic. She started to learn about poisons and antidotes with Shizune since she had already read Tsunade's entire library. She was looking forward to start her Hospital training once she turned 15.

Chakra enhanced strength was actually easy for her. She felt more fluid and graceful because of all of that hard physic training she did the month before and since she had almost perfect chakra control she could mold it very fine. She had to continue to work on her taijutsu though.

When she turned 15 she started to work at the Hospital. Her parents were so proud of her. She had become a beautiful young woman, was revered as the Fifth Hokage's apprentice, and did not cry for her 'Sasuke-Kun' anymore. She had started to work alone, supervised by Shizune. She had saved life and sometimes she had lost them. It was frustrating, it made her feel useless again until Tsunade beat the hell out of her one time to bring her out of her moody self. The loss was a curse to the medic, but she had to be calm that she did everything that could be done.

"You've graduated as a medic Sakura" one day Tsunade said to her at the training ground. "You know almost everything I know now, you only lack of experience. The next step is to train you as a field medic. You must know the rules for the Medic Nin right?"

Sakura repeated like a Primary Child: "Daiikkō: No medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to an end. Dainikō: No medic ninja shall ever stand on the front lines. And Daisankō: No medic ninja shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon."

"Very good as always, but there is a fourth rule." Sakura looked at her with curiosity. "Daiyonkō: Only those medic ninja who have mastered the Strength of a Hundred Technique of the ninja art Creation Rebirth are permitted to discard the above-mentioned laws." The Hokage stated and the shouted "Ninpō Sōzō Saisei no Byakugō no Jutsu".

The rhombus on the Slug Sannin's Forehead turned darker and transformed itself to lines that covered all of Tsunade's body.

"Now, stab me with your kunai" she ordered.

"WHAT!?" Sakura shouted terrified

"Do as I told you, don't you trust your Teacher?" Tsunade talked back.

Sakura charged kunai in hand, to her Shishou stabbing her in the stomach. Then the wound started to produce some smoke, and Tsunade withdrew the kunai so it could mend alone. The pink haired kunoichi couldn't believe her eyes.

"This is the only way a medic can be at the front lines, it makes you almost immortal." The Hokage taught her student.

"How does it work?" Sakura enquired.

"The process accelerates the cell division, so it kind of quickens the healing. But you have to know that this is known as a Kinjutsu, because it takes toll on the user's life" Tsunade explained.

"Why's that?" Sakura was full of questions today.

"The cells in your body can only divide a limited amount of times during your life, so it happens to shorten your life span" Sakura looked worried "Hey change that face Kid, it's not so harmful if you use it wisely. Are you interested in learning this? You'll be the first one to use my technique if you succeed." Tsunade tempted her

Sakura thought of Naruto and Sasuke and imagined herself fighting side by side with them without the worries of being a nuisance. "YES, I will learn this technique" she claimed seriously.

Pleased, the Slug Sanin continued "First you need to accumulate chakra on another part of your body, but separated to your chakra path. It's like you have a small box in it, where you storage chakra for other purposes. You have to place the seal in your mind and gather it all while still training. The first days it will drain you. I'll show you how to do it"

Months went by, and Sakura was storing chakra on her forehead, training taijutsu with her Shishou, treating patients in the clinic and mastering in poisons detection/extraction and realizing antidotes. She had done the Chuunin exam on Suna months ago and had in papers surpassed her ex-teammates.

Naruto finally came back to Konoha, all grown up physically but not in mind. She went to greet him happily, he opened his loud mouth and she had to hit him for being stupid. "Owwww you've become terribly strong Sak'ra Chan Dattebayo! I've missed you"

"Missed you too Naruto!" she giggled. Oh how she had missed him. He was taller than her now, outfit changed black pants and a black and orange jacket. His hitai ate had changed too. He was a 15 years old shiny idiot and pure hearted boy. Her idiot brother.

"Don't bother with this Baka" a female voice said. Hikari-chan was standing next to them smiling brightly. She had grown up too. She still was the same height but her body was more woman like. She was 19 now, her black hair was longer, and was using a kind of kimono-ninja suit like Tsunade-Sama but without showing her breast. Sakura had changed her clothing too, she now wore a sleeveless shirt with a zipper to the side, black shorts, an "over-shorts" light skirt with openings to the sides, and large ninja boots.

"Hikari Chan!" Sakura shouted while running to hug her friend.

"You've grown up a lot kid!" Hikari laughed watching Sakura pout because of the moniker. "You seem a lot stronger. You've blossomed Sakura Chan! Cant' wait to spar with you to see your achievements!"

"Me too, I can feel you both got incredibly strong. We'll spar soon, nee?" She asked "And Naruto I have something to tell you" she got serious.

"What is it? Are you going to hit me again?" the blonde asked with a bit of dread.

"I want to free you from your promise" The kunoichi stated seriously

"Wh-what promise?" the blonde didn't understand what she was talking about.

"I don't want you to go after Sasuke-kun anymore. It's obvious that he doesn't want to be with us. Please Naruto, I want you to be safe. You're one of my most precious people, you're my brother." She ended the phrase with tears in her eyes.

"Sakura-chan" he blushed, it didn't matter he had just been 'friendzoned', she told him she loved him as a brother, as family. That felt incredible right. "Thank you for your words, you know I love you too, I'll always protect you… even though you don't need it " he added looking at her pouting "But although you freed me from that promise, I'll still go after the Teme because he's my friend too and he's lonely. I believe that everybody that has lost their path can be redeemed. They only need someone to believe in them, to talk to them. It is a hard path to peace, but that's my Nindo." He smiled brightly.

'_Nindo' _Sakura thought. She had been struggling to find it years after her talk with Hikari. She thought she had found it when she started her medical training but something was missing. She wanted to help others, like Naruto said, but through her medic jutsu. To save lives, to end suffering. And she had also mastered the chakra enhanced strength because she wanted to walk side by side with her team. Hearing Naruto and looking at him suddenly make it clear like water, peace was her Nindo too. The truth was that she wanted to protect Naruto and his dream of peace. He'll be Hokage and he'll need backup to do that.

Naruto turned bright red when he felt Sakura hugging him. "Then I'll be there to be your backup. You're not alone brother." She said as she clinged to him tightly.

"Sakura-chan…" he said and then whispered "Thank you". '_Thank you'_ again those words. But these were different. Naruto was accepting her as an equal, and as family.

Hikari had watched everything with a smile on her face. She had moved a little to give them space and suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. It was about time that he showed up, she had felt him in the trees.

"Yo!" Kakashi said to them grinning behind his mask. "How are my favorite students doing?" he asked as asking about the weather.

"SASUKE/SASUKE-KUN IS NOT HERE!" both Naruto and Sakura shouted in unison.

"Oh my, is good to see your lungs work properly" the white haired said while shaking his pinkie in his ear.

"Kakashi, none of us is your favorite student and you know it. You're such a lame sensei" Hikari said to him with a plain face that made Kakashi sweat drop.

"Well, it's true I wanted to help Sasuke, but I still loved you" Kakashi said melodramatically raising a hand to his forehead while still clinging Icha-Icha paradise on his other hand. "I want to test how much you've improve. Let's do the bell challenge again!" he cheerfully said to the remain team 7 members.

"Whatever!" Naruto and Sakura said in unison again. Boy, they were tuned!

"I shall pass on this, I'm going to meet with Tsunade-sama. See ya!" Hikari flickered.

Kakashi did his best, and did not underestimate his former students. They were incredibly strong and had grown up like shinobi a lot. Dread came to his face when he saw Sakura punching a huge crater in the floor. He later gave her a moniker "The mother nature force blossom fist", but it was too long and Sakura laughed at it. The fight was tied, and then they had this great idea of shouting him spoilers of Jiraiya book, the one he had not finished yet. That took him off-guard and they beat him together. He was so proud, that he had invited to eat ramen and actually paid.

Some days later Naruto, Hikari and Sakura had their spar. Their improvement was notorious, Sakura thought. Naruto had master the Rasengan, and could do thousands of shadow clones without sweating. Hikari's speed had increased, and with her using her sharingan it was almost impossible to hit her. She had to think a strategy, she had learnt a lot from Shikamaru while she hung out with Ino-Shika-Chou. She charged to both at her full speed, with chakra enhanced fists. When they tried to hit her she used the Substitution Jutsu and she replaced herself with a block of wood. It was a genin e-rank technique but it actually worked. Naruto and Hikari were fooled for a second and she then appeared behind them and kicked them with charka enhanced kicks. They landed a few meters far from her, and then Sakura hit the ground beneath them with a loud 'SHANNAAAAROOOO' leaving a huge crater. The cousins managed to jump before it was too late, but they were a bit sore because of the kicks.

"Whoa! You surprised me, I wasn't expecting the replacement technique and it passed through my sharingan hahaha I have to pay more attention" Hikari laughed

"You both weren't fighting with all your strength, so I gave you a lesson" Sakura stated, and then the three burst into laughter.

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Some days later they were noticed that Gaara, the Kazekage and Jinchuriki of the Ichibi, was kidnapped by Akatsuki, so Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto went on a mission to retrieve him. When they arrived to Suna, Lady Chiyo was added to their team. Kankuro, Gaara's brother, was poisoned and Sakura used her expertise to extract all of it and then healed him and prepared an antidote. Chiyo was really impressed. She was an elder of the village a poison expert and also the head medic there. They found Gaara and they had to split in two teams: Naruto and Kakashi went to get Deidara, whom had left with the young Kazekage, and Chiyo stayed with Sakura to fight Sasori.

The Battle was epic. It turned out that Chiyo was Sasori's grandmother and she knew his fighting style and puppets very well. Sakura offered herself to be led by Chiyo's chakra strings as a live puppet, this way she could help her dodge better. Sakura's enhanced strength cracked Sasori's favorite puppet and armor and he had to fight on his real shape, another puppet with his real heart in a recipient in the middle of his chest. It was during this battle when Sakura learnt that he had some intel in Orochimaru's side.

The medic duo could finally defeat him, and Sakura crushed his heart to end his suffering. When they found Naruto and Kakashi, Gaara was dead. Chiyo Baa-sama used a forbidden kinjutsu and gave her life for the Kazekage's one. This left Sakura pretty shocked.

Team Seven was eventually reformed, this time with another young shinobi named Sai taking Sasuke's place. Sai was a strange guy, he didn't know about emotions, he was harsh and put monikers to people: Naruto was Dickless, Sakura was Ugly and it continued. Sakura sent him flying away with a punch every time he called her ugly. He was from Root, an Anbu division that was led by Danzo Shimura one of the elders of the Village.

The new team Seven, now lead by Yamato Taicho, had the mission to get together with Sasori source in Orochimaru's lines. The mission went worse than expected. The source was none other than Kabuto, and it turned out that Sai had another mission assigned by Root which was to kill Sasuke, so Naruto, Sakura and him tried to stop him. When Sai finally met the former team 7 member, in spite of trying to kill him, he tried to convince him to go back to Konoha for Naruto's sake. Fortunately, the trio could get to Sai and that's when the first hurtful meeting happened.

"Sakura" a deep male voice said. It was her Sasuke-kun, now a young fifteen year old teen with a very dark aura.

"Sasuke-kun" she breathed. Then Naruto appeared and Sasuke attacked him. Sai saved Naruto, but they were hurt by Sasuke's chidori explosion. Sakura found her resolve, she charged to him with her Chakra enhanced fist, but Yamato step between them and got stabbed by the Uchiha. Using his wood release he tried to trap Sasuke but he escaped. Finally Orochimaru appeared and took Sasuke away.

The pain, hurt and anguish came again and she felt useless as ever. Sasuke was gone, he was another person. What had happened to the boy she loved?

Naruto then started to train with Yamato and Kakashi, and Sakura used to do some soldier pills for him to eat. Later they both were sent with Yamato and Sai to an escort mission that of course went worse than expected. Luckily they ended working together with the Six tails Jinchuriki and save the day.

* * *

Back in Konoha, Sakura was summoned to the Hokage tower with Shizune and Hikari, who was working now as a second assistant to the Godaime. They were working on improvements for the Hospital, and the Godaime asked Hikari to go and bring some Sake from the Akimichi shop.

"You had three bottles stored here, did you drink them all?" The Takishima asked with one raised eyebrow.

"Do not question your Hokage and GO!" Tsunade dismissed her and Hikari left sweat dropping.

When Sakura, Tsunade and Shizune were alone, Sai suddenly appeared with two ancient toads. They gave them the most terrible news, Jiraiya was dead. He had left the Village a month after he arrived with his kohai to investigate a lead on the Akatsuki Leader. Sakura knew Tsunade was utterly shocked but she had put her Hokage Poker face. She immediately contacted Kakashi and told him to bring Naruto. As the latter entered the Hokage's office, he felt the mood was odd. And then the Toad said the news.

"WHAT?!" Naruto shouted, then a loud crack sounded behind them and the sweet smell of Sake filled the room. Sakura could see Hikari absolutely confused and hurt with the news, and then she disappeared. Tsunade ordered Kakashi to follow her. Naruto stayed and argued with Tsunade badly, he was extremely miserable. He left saying hurtful words to the Godaime. Sakura followed him and tried to comfort him. She beat some sense into him, telling him that Tsunade was feeling the same as him, and that Jiraiya-sama wouldn't want to see him like this. Jiraiya was a grown up man that knew the risks of his mission.

Shortly after this, Kakashi Sensei appeared with an unconscious Hikari. She was hospitalized and Sakura checked on her personally. Kakashi had to knock her out because the Takishima had awoken her Mangekyo Sharingan and unleashed some foreign chakra. Sakura had learnt that her friend had Chakra sealed in her while doing her medic checkup.

"I'm truly sorry about Master Jiraiya" Sakura said to her friend once she woke up. Hikari couldn't answer, she was depressed and looked kind of lost in thoughts. "I need to see your eyes to check on your dojutsu." She said as she moved her hands to her temples. "Please activate your sharingan" Hikari nodded absentmindly and did what she was told. The Medic could see that chakra was flowing fine. "Now please try to turn it to the Mangekyo". The elder kunoichi froze as her pupil changed form and tears started to flow from her eyes. Sakura felt bad for her friend too. Jiraiya was very loved by her two best friends, and she didn't know what to do to help them. She checked the dojutsu and was amazed by how fluently and strong the chakra flowed, that could be the huge difference that made her clan killed by the Uchiha. She had studied the Sharingan in order to help Sasuke-Kun and remembered that the users tend to go blind.

"Everything seems all right Hikari Chan. Your eyes are fine and your sealed chakra too." She saw Hikari shift at the mention of the chakra. "Do you want to talk to me about it?"

Hikari looked at her "It's better for you not to know everything yet. But I'll tell you this: I was born with a special chakra. It's kind of dangerous, and if other nations knew about it they would had tried to kidnap me when I was little. I tend to break the seal whenever I get very upset, it's like Naruto with the fox. That's why Kakashi knocked me out, I wasn't controlling myself." She finished with a huge sigh. "I can't believe Ero-Sennin couldn't make it." She started to cry again. Sakura hugged her until she calmed down.

Some days later Naruto decoded a message that Jiraiya had left him, and wanted to go and train Senjutsu to the Toad dimension. Once his cousin was better, Tsunade Sama ordered that the two of them leave the village to train. Sakura was left alone again.

* * *

One day the pink haired kunoichi was with Shikamaru trying to find out more information about Pain when they heard a loud explosion in the Village. She confronted one of Pain's Paths and then rushed to the Hospital to help the injured. The world seemed to stop when everything was destroyed by the Akatsuki's leader technique. She managed to survive but could see and feel that everything was destroyed and almost everybody was dead. '_Useless' _she muted to herself, anguish consumed her and she started to cry loudly, shouting and praying for Naruto to come. Suddenly the blonde appeared in the battle field and fought Pain. Everybody could see his fight, Hinata's confession, and then they listened to his and Nagato's conversation, were the latter decide to revive everybody who was dead in Konoha.

With the battle over, Sakura ran to Naruto and hit him for being so reckless but then hugged and thanked him too. He told her that Hikari couldn't make it because she was still unstable and it would have worsened the things.

Tsunade-sama was left badly injured because of the battle and even though Sakura and Shizune healed her she was left in a coma, hence the village was momentarily leaderless. Things got worse and Danzo was appointed Hokage and put a prize in Sasuke's head. Konoha's 11 talked about Sasuke-kun's actions and she found the saddest resolve ever: the Uchiha had to die. When the group left to find Sasuke, she drugged them and left by herself to be the one that ended everything. She felt responsible, even though she didn't do anything. Maybe that was it, she DIDN'T do anything, she couldn't. And she wanted to prove herself, but once again Sasuke was stronger and almost killed her with a chidori. Naruto and Kakashi appeared to save the day, and Tobi, the masked Akatsuki, appeared and left with the Uchiha. Sasuke seemed irrational, he was a complete different person, and it looked that he was going blind. He had killed Itachi but he hadn't replaced his eyes.

She felt something break inside of her. It was her heart.

***** Author's note*****

**I had to cut this chapter because it was too long. Here's part one, hope you like it. I feel it's necessary to explain Sakura's develop, it didn't feel right in the anime.**


	6. The Godaime apprentice (part 2)

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Naruto. If I did I've wouldn't have trolled Sakura at all.**

* * *

The fourth war was proclaimed by Tobi, who claimed to be Madara Uchiha, one of the founders of the village and then hell was unleashed. Lots of dead shinobi were brought back to life by the Edo Tensei. People had to fight their loved ones; Sakura was always in her Medic Tent treating ninjas from the shinobi alliance. Lots of casualties some saved. Eventually a creature, the white Zetsu appeared and Sakura and Shizune discovered that it had Hashirama Senju's cells because Madara had obtained them. That made him practically immortal. The white Zetsu became an army of almost 100 thousand.

The chakra of all the bijuu was collected and the Juubi, the ten tailed beast was awoken. The masked man Tobi, aka Madara, was actually Obito Uchiha, Kakashi's former teammate who was supposed to be dead. The real Madara was brought back to life by the edo tensei too. The Shinobi alliance tried to fight the Juubi, Neji died during one of the attacks. Suddenly the four former Hogake were brought back to life by the Edo Tensei too, and they all appeared while Sakura was restoring Naruto's chakra.

The blonde told her that the Yondaime was his dad and she almost fainted. She saw Hikari run to hug the Hokage, and she understood everything. Minato thought that Sakura was like Kushina.

* * *

"Sakura" that deep baritone voice sent shivers down her spine.

"Sasuke-kun" she whispered. He seemed calmer, he had showed up to help. Hikari watched him with a strange look. He returned the gesture looking at her with hatred. He never liked the Takishima because he thought that her clan were traitors to the Uchiha.

The battle vs. the Juubi started and Naruto and Sasuke left to fight the creature. Sakura's mind threaten to go into her 'I feel useless' mood, but she gathered all her courage and found her resolve. She felt it was the time. Three years of training and it was completed. Then suddenly a purple rhombus –just like Tsunade's- appeared in her wide forehead, and she run to her comrades. They called their summons, just like their teachers – toad, slug and snake- and that gave them later the "New Sannin" moniker. Sakura had made a contract with slugs one year ago.

Eventually Obito became the Juubi's jinchuriki and was almost invincible. Naruto could extract the Bijuus from him with everybody's help, but Uchiha Madara was revived and while fighting Naruto, Sai, Sasuke and Hashirama, he captured all the bijuu and reformed the Juubi becoming its Jinchuriki. Naruto died when the nine tails was extracted from him, Gaara brought Naruto to Sakura to help him. She had to stay professional, but she was extremely nervous while healing him. Hikari wanted to go with them but her uncle told her to stay, she was needed in the frontlines.

"COME ON NARUTO, SHANARO!" she screamed while flying on Gaara's sand, pumping Naruto's heart with her bare hand. She gave him CPR but it was useless. She was sent to another dimension with Naruto by Kakashi and Suddenly Obito appeared in front of her.

"Can I trust you?" she asked with her guard up.

"I'm going to save Naruto" he stated and then transferred the bijuu's chakra to him. Suddenly Naruto woke up, his chakra changed, and he had a seal in his hand.

They went back to the battle and fought Madara, he tried to get Obito's Rinnegan. The latter teleported Sakura and himself and asked her to take his eye to destroy it. She hesitated and Madara appeared and got it. He then managed to unleash the Mugen Tsukuyomi. Obito wasn't affected and a big tree started to grow roots that trapped everybody. Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi were saved form it by Sasuke's Susanoo.

Madara confronted the team 7 and explained the moon eye plan, in a twisted, horrific way he wanted to bring peace to the world Sakura thought. Suddenly Black Zetsu pierced the Uchiha through his heart and explained how he had changed the Uchiha tablet that explained the Mugen Tsukuyomi to help awake Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. That Zetsu bastard had used the elder Uchiha, Sakura was really angry.

The goddess appeared in front of them and another battle started. They were switched trough dimensions. Zetsu had merged with his 'Mother' and she was invincible. Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi, Obito and Sasuke were teleported leaving the battlefield, were Madara's body, the Hokages and Hikari also stood unaffected by the jutsu.

Kaguya sent Sasuke away to a distant dimension and they needed to find him, only he and Naruto could seal the Goddess with the seals in their hands. Obito and Sakura teamed together to look out for Sasuke with kamui. Sakura was the one with most chakra besides Naruto, and he needed to stay and fight the Goddess longer to save time.

Obito teleported them and she started to pump Chakra in his back. They travelled through 10 dimensions or so. The Uchiha's sharingan was starting to bleed and he was exhausted. Sakura channeled more Chakra through him.

"Aggghhhh!" Sakura cried when they left the acid dimension. Some of the acid had spilled trough kamui and melt her vest and her right sleeve. She tossed it away and cut the burnt sleeve. She released her Byakugō and sent more chakra to Obito, who opened the correct dimension: Sasuke was there. But with his chakra fading Sakura shared her Byakugō with him, filling his body with the black lines of the jutsu.

"SASUKE KUN!" she shouted, and the Uchiha saw them. He started to run, but it was almost too late. "SHANNAROOOO" and Sakura passed out. Sasuke caught her, and thanked them. He had switched places with Sakura's Vest.

They arrived to the dimension where the battle was going on and Obito sacrificed himself to save Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi. Then the team 7 attacked, Naruto and Sasuke cornered Kaguya from the sides, and the Goddess wanted to escape from above. Sakura realized that and she Jumped and hit her shouting hard. Her boys sealed her and the war was over.

They were brought back to their reality by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Rikudo Sennin, who had showed up suddenly, but it looked like Naruto and Sasuke knew him. The Hokages were released from the Edo tensei, and it was Naruto's Birthday.

Sasuke surprised everybody by saying he wanted to kill the Kages and control the Bijuus. He wanted to kill Naruto first. Sakura tried to bring some sense back to him and she wore her heart on her sleeve.

"SASUKE –KUN" she shouted "I know there's nothing I could do for you, but I love you, I want to help you get away that darkness, If I could take all your pain to myself I would do it. But all I can do is say this to you and cry" She was confessing again, but this time it was also for Naruto's sake. She couldn't allow this fight, they'll kill themselves. Hikari, Kakashi and Naruto could only watch. "Sasuke-kun, if I still have a place in your heart, no matter how small it may be, then please, I'm begging you. Don't slip further away!" Sasuke froze in place and turned to look at her.

"You're still SO annoying" he said, and charged to her with a genjutsu that looked like he ripped her heart out. And everything went dark.

* * *

Darkness and voices.. 'BASTARD, she loves you' she heard. 'I can't be with her or anyone else' another voice. Naruto and Sasuke fighting in the distance. The genjutsu just numbed all her senses. She felt Naruto gathering chakra for a Rasengan, she extended her hand. She had promised to be his backup. Then a loud bang and a bright light in the darkness. She opened her eyes.

"Are you awake?" she heard her sensei ask. Hikari chan was in front of her, checking her with medic jutsu.

"The boys, they are..." she couldn't finish. She jumped on her feet and went to the Valley of the end, where she felt them. Hikari followed her with Kakashi on her shoulder.

The scene was disturbing. Both Naruto and Sasuke-kun lay in a pond of blood from the both of them. She jumped and landed in between the boys. They were missing an arm, Naruto the right one and Sasuke the left one. Those idiots had blasted their own arms while fighting.

She kneeled in the blood and started to heal them.

"Sak'ra –chan your face is dirty" Naruto stated grinning. She wanted to punch him, or hug him she wasn't sure.

"Sakura..." Sasuke started looking at her with deep regret.

"SHUT UP. I'm concentrating" she interrupted him. The kunoichi didn't want to speak, her voice will betray her.

"I'm Sorry" the Uchiha continued in spite of her interruption.

"About what?" she spat.

"Everything" she could almost see the pain in Sasuke's eyes. And she started to cry.

"You'd better damn well be... SHANNARO!" she sobbed "You idiot!"

Her boys smiled at her and when she was finished, Kakashi and Hikari whom had watched everything from the cliff, approached. The Takishima hugged her cousin tightly –"You're hurting me ´Kari-chan Dattebayo!" – "You reckless little bastard, Naruto Baka!"-. Kakashi helped Sasuke to get up.

Once the boys undid the Tsukuyomi, the war was officially ended. They went to find Tsunade Shishou. Sakura run to her Master and started to cry again. The Blonde hugged her and told her that she was so proud of her.

"Sakura-Chan is amazing Tsunade Baa-chan!" Naruto grinned again

"Don't you call me Baa-Chan you knuckle head brat!" boy, the Hokage was in good spirits! "And you, snotty faced Uchiha, are under arrest and are going to be judged. Don't put those faces " she said looking at Sakura and Naruto "he is still a traitor to Konoha no matter what he has done in the war" She sentenced.

"I understand Hokage-sama. I surrender myself to Konoha" The Uchiha said raising his hands and closing his eyes. That was a gesture of trust of him. Kakashi had to seal his chakra away and his eyes.

"Oi Baa chan you can't do this to the Teme, he's a good person now" the blond protested

"Shut up dobe" Sasuke surprised everybody "I need to be punished for my sins."

Sakura watched as Sasuke was taken to Konoha by some Anbu that had emerged from the tree. It wasn't how she thought Sasuke would return, but he was returning home.

* * *

Back in Konoha the Hospital was full of people, Sakura had to do double shifts. Hikari and Ino helped too. Naruto and Sasuke were released in a week, those lucky bastards! But the Uchiha was in the dungeons of the Hokage tower by order of the council.

A new memorial stone was added and the funerals were made a month later. They all have somebody to mourn. Neji was loved by everybody, Shikamaru's dad, Ino's dad. Itachi. Sakura told Sasuke that his brother was going to have a memorial with honors. He didn't want to ask permission to go, he felt he didn't deserve it. He asked Sakura if he could tell Hikari to come and see him. The latter wasn't really pleased, but went to speak to him. He apologized for mistreating her because of her Clan. He said he was also jealous of his aniki and her when he was a kid, and that he knew she was really special to him, so he told her where he had Itachi's body sealed and asked if she could arrange the burial. Sakura saw Hikari fought back tears as she put a hand on the Uchiha's shoulder.

"It's ok Sasuke" she said "it's ok to mourn. You fought side by side with him during the war. You have mended the bond. We all have." Sasuke didn't want to cry in front of her and she noticed. "I'm leaving to retrieve the body, but you'll arrange the burial as head of your Clan, imprisoned or not. I Leave you to Sakura's care." And she was gone.

There was an awkward silence between the two ex-teammates. Sakura knew he may want some time alone so she started to leave the cell.

"You can stay if you want, it's just I don't feel like talking" the teen said trying to keep his voice even.

"Ok then, I'll stay. I have some scrolls to read if you don't mind." Sasuke nodded and she seated on the floor and started reading. Actually, she was thinking. How did she feel about Sasuke? Did she still love him? What made her to confess again in the battlefield? She did love him, but maybe it was the idea of him that she had romanticized. She barely knew him, surely she knew his suffering but was that a reason to love somebody? She heard his breathing even and realized he was asleep. Sakura left the cell still thinking about her feelings about Sasuke.

* * *

The fourth ninja war seemed too much to Tsunade, who gave up her position as Hokage. Kakashi Sensei was named the Rokudaime Hokage by unanimity. One of his first managements was to give Sasuke a probatory pardon, so he could leave Konoha to see the world without being controlled by anybody and mending all the bad circumstances his past behavior had created.

Kakashi and Sakura were saying goodbye to Sasuke at the village's gates, Hikari was waiting for them in the bench next to the entrance, she had said goodbye to Sasuke the day before. Kakashi said to him that he as the Rokudaime Hokage was responsible for his actions, and he had to behave. He went through a lot of trouble to help him. Sasuke thanked him and said he was sorry to bother.

"What if I told you... that I'd like to go come too?" Sakura asked timidly, Kakashi eyed her and Hikari sent chakra to her ears to listen better. The Pink haired didn't know what possessed her, it was like she needed to say that one more time, to check her feelings and his.

"It's my road to redemption, you had nothing to do with my sins" He answered in his Uchiha way.

Sakura felt a bit depressed "Nothing to do you say..."she breathed. Then she felt footsteps and Sasuke poked her forehead saying "Mata kondo da" and then "Arigato, Sakura".

The kunoichi turned a lovely shade of pink because she didn't expect that. It was like he was acknowledging her as an equal and as a person dear to him. She had waited so long for a gesture like that. And it was then when she realized while looking him leave the Village, that it really was too late. Her heart wasn't skipping a beat or beating faster like it used to. She loved Sasuke like she loved Naruto, he was one of her boys to protect, the bond had changed and so did the feelings.

"You know that poking thing is very important to him, do you?" Hikari said to Sakura from her bench. "It's the biggest show of affection you can get from an Uchiha, Itachi used to do that."

"I know it's important, but it's just that I don't feel the same anymore." The pink haired concluded. "I feel a bit bad about it, it's like I'm betraying my younger self. I used to love him so much"

"It's ok, feelings can change and crushes don't last too much. We all know it started like that" the Takishima said. "And I know you truly loved him, but it makes sense that your feelings have changed. A lot happened this years, he changed, you too. Don't worry kid, this too shall pass"

"Don't call me kid" Sakura protested with a dry look.

"Hahaha Let's go to wait for Naruto at Ichiraku!" Hikari grabbed the pink haired and run to the ramen shop

* * *

"YOU WHAT!?" Naruto shouted

"I am going to move to Sunna for six months, Naruto don't shout!" Sakura reprimanded the blonde "Gaara-kun wants me to establish the Mind Health Clinic and the Pediatric unit. We need to heal the minds of the people whom have suffered war trauma. It's our duty as medics, and our way to contribute to the peace. This is part of my backup for you, so you can be Hokage of a healthy village."

"She's right Cousin, this is a great opportunity to mend the wounds of the war." Hikari intervened.

"Yeah, I Know, but you're leaving and Sakura-Chan is leaving too. And I have to study a lot! I will need you girls!"

"You're leaving too?" Sakura asked the brunette.

"Yes, I'm leaving to Kumo. I have the mission to check on the tailed beasts, and I also need to train with Killer Bee Chakra Control to use the Otsutsuki´s one like Naruto does with Kurama and Bee with the Hachibi. It would be nice to don't need this seal and have my whole chakra merged together as one " the Takishima said pointing her chest "I think I was a toddler last time I had it complete."

"BUAAAA you're both leaving me!" the Uzumaki exaggerated

Sakura sweat dropped "Come on Naruto, I'll be back shortly, and it's not like you'll have too much free time. You're still a Genin" she mocked.

Naruto sighed "It's true. So let's toast to Sakura's Jonin promotion, we almost forget that we're celebrating" he added with that bright sunshine smile.

"Kampai!" the trio shouted as the clashed their sake cups.

* * *

The six months in Sunna went fast. When she got there she was showed the place she would be living, and started to work the next minute. It was hard. People in the Sand were more private and untrusty than Konoha's people, although they were opening themselves to other villages. Luckily they now fully trusted the Kazekage, and she could see that it gave Gaara a lot of confidence. He had grown so much from that little boy full of hatred and lack of love, he had blossomed like Ino would say. They spent a lot of time together planning stuff related to the Clinic. Sakura was developing a little crush on him, but she kept it at bay because it wasn't professional and she was not sure if it was real or simply because she had found someone to fully forget Sasuke -like they say, a nail takes another nail-.

One day she was working with Gaara and some guards reported that Uchiha Sasuke was plotting against Sunna and had attacked them. Sakura was sure that it wasn't true, so she went to investigate without telling the Red haired. She was abducted and drugged. She learnt that people use Sasuke DNA to make clones of him, they had taken blood samples from the Valley of the End. Konoha and Sunna sent help, but she could get out by herself leaving twenty men unconscious. When the help came she went back to the Sand to make her inform and continue working because she had one last week to complete the mission. She didn't know that the real Sasuke came to help her, only to find that she had fought by herself and didn't need him or Naruto. She didn't know that Sasuke was proud of her, and felt some guilt because he couldn't make it in time. She didn't know that the Uchiha was developing the feelings he had buried when he was a child. She didn't know she will eventually break his heart too.

* * *

Life in Konoha was still busy as always. It was six months since she came back from Suna and she continued working, training, studying and helping Naruto to study too. Hell, she was a workaholic. Ino wanted her to date somebody, but she didn't have the time or the desire to do it. She used to hang up with the blonde, Ten Ten and Hinata, but Ino was busy dating Sai and Ten Ten was starting her weapon business, so the last month it was only Hinata and her. The Hyuuga heiress had improved a lot with her social skills, she only stammered a bit when Naruto was too close to her, but she could have a nice conversation with him. Sakura used to hide her smile when Naruto started to show up when she spar with Hinata. He said he was curious, but he always complimented the brunette on her growing. One day he even invited her to eat Ramen with them. Hinata was almost fainting. Naruto was really thick, and also blind, Sakura thought. He was really interested in her friend, but he didn't have a clue.

* * *

Eventually Hikari came back, it was almost two years that she had been away. She met her at the clinic where the Takishima was first appointed to do a checkup when she left the Hokage Office.

"Come in" Sakura said as she heard a knock on the door

"Do you have time for an old friend?" Hikari's head appeared in the doorway

"Hikari Chan!" the pink haired exclaimed as she went to hug her friend.

"Calm down kid, you'll crush me, and I was only looking for a checkup hahaha" she said and Sakura left her go looking her plain. "DON'T CALL ME KID! I'M 19!" her forehead brain was about to pop.

"How I've missed your temper young lady" Hikari mocked "Ok, time for chakra checkup. Kakashi wants an inform of my progress with my chakra. And also we have to catch up!"

Sakura laughed and proceeded to check her chakra. It felt different, more stable and strong. The seal was still there but it was different. "Have you achieved it? Did you merge your chakra together?" she asked.

"Yes, I did!" the brunette answered brightly "It took me a year, but I managed to do it. The seal you see is only for me to store it and hide it, so any middle-ranged sensor will think I don't have a lot of chakra" She smiled devilishly.

"Hahaha it works like my Yin seal right? When you need it you can access to it freely" the Medic said.

"True, I thought about Shishou and talked to Bee about the possibility and it worked" Hikari confirmed "but enough of the boring stuff, tell me how it was in Suna? You told me in your letter you were abducted and managed to escape, but you didn't tell me anymore"

"How about you talk to me about your boyfriend and parents? You put very little about it on your letters" Sakura reprimanded.

Both went silent and looked serious, and then burst in laughter. They went to the Clinic's cafeteria and spent two whole hours and four coffees catching up.

* * *

When the other Ōtsutsuki attacked kidnapping Hanabi Hyuuga, Sakura was appointed to a team with Naruto, Sai, Shikamaru, Hinata and Hikari to retrieve her. Then this guy, Toneri, forced Hinata to follow him leaving Naruto heartbroken. They followed them to the moon and in the journey they were submerged genjutsu casted water and she had the strangest dream.

When she finally awoke she couldn't remember a thing. Nor did Shikamaru, Sai, and Hikari. Naruto did remember, and he had finally realized his feelings about the Hyuuga. Hikari and Sakura were so happy for him. It was about time that baka opened his eyes!

They arrived in the moon and suddenly another Ōtsutsuki-like person appeared. It was Hamura, Rikudo Sennin's brother.

He looked at the pinkette and Hikari and then said: "Dear Imouto, I'm so pleased to see you! I may have not been able to save you, but I am going to make a gift to you, and also your pink hared friend here. You both deserve to be happy"

And everything became white.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Finally I can update (don't try to go 'Marie Kondo' if you're not prepared to lose at least two weeks of your life cleaning and throwing stuff). Luckily I had this chapter almost finished, and the next one started, so maybe I can update shortly.**

**We're moving to the real story now! Hope you like my version of Sakura. I've added a hint of GaaSaku only for fun, and Sasusaku one-sided (poor Sasuke, but that things can happen). I moved the order of the Sakura Hiden and wrote it before 'The Last' because it will be useful to the plot. I used the last sentence in contraposition of the time Sakura got caught on Sasuke Genjutsu. White gives hope.**

**And our heroines will remember their genjutsu moon dreams, but not now ;)**

**Thanks for the favs! See you!**


	7. Meeting

**DISCLAIMER: I would love to own Naruto, but I don't and won't.**

* * *

When Madara felt Tobirama's Chakra spike he diverted his attention from Hashirama and looked to his right. Izuna was badly injured and Takato had jumped to his aid. The younger Senju was charging with his katana to his brothers, and Madara knew he could not make it in time.

Suddenly a huge explosion came from the forest on his left as two figures jumped from the trees landing next to his siblings and the Senju, who had stopped his attack from the surprise, 'Thanks Kami!' he thought with relief.

Then a bunch of Hyuuga shinobi – like 20 or so - appeared from the woods, supposedly chasing the figures.

"UCHIHA, SENJU YOU BASTARDS" the Hyuuga leader said when he saw the two clan's armies "I KNEW YOU WERE CAPABLE OF EVERYTHING BUT TO ALLY TO BEAT US AND SEND THIS TWO BITCHES TO AMBUSH US IS LESSER THAN WE THOUGHT".

Madara looked to his right again and realized that the figures were two women, who were bloody and beaten, and dress in strange clothes. One possessed the Sharingan and the other one outrageous pink hair.

"I TOLD YOU I'M NOT AN UCHIHA" the sharingan one shouted, "AND I'M NOT A SENJU" this time was the pink haired one.

"BULLSHIT, YOU HAVE THE SHARINGAN, AND YOU HAVE HEALING POWERS. YOU ARE UCHIHA AND SENJU" the man spat.

All the Uchiha and Senju Shinobi were frozen on their spots.

"BITE ME, YOU BASTARDS ATTACKED THE MERCHANT VILLAGE AND WE HAPPENED TO BE THERE JUST PASSING. YOU KILLED INNOCENT PEOPLE, I'M SICK OF YOU" the supposedly Uchiha shouted and charged to the leader. The Hyuuga started to fight her with his soft punch technique, and was surprised to see her dodging almost every punch.

"How can you dodge my punches?" he managed to say.

"I've spar with a Hyuuga before. Your techniques are the same" she grinned and then noticed she was surrounded by 20 or so of his clansmen. Madara found this strange, how could this woman _spar_ with a Hyuuga? A spar was meant to be friendly, and Hyuugas were not.

"KATON HI NO YA NO JUTSU" the girl shouted and a huge fire arrow flew attacking all the Hyuuga men. "SAKURA" she then shouted and started to run away.

The pink haired –Sakura, that may be her name Madara thought- started to run away too, molding chakra on her hand. Then the Kunoichi suddenly changed place. The Sharingan user shouted both Uchiha and Senju men "JUMP", and then hell happened.

"SHANNAROOOOOOO" Sakura shouted and punched the earth creating a massive crater beating the hell out of all the Hyuuga who he could see through the dust were laying unconscious.

Madara was in awe. This small pink haired girl was like a force of nature, she was the strongest woman he'd seen, and he didn't recall seeing a man with that physical strength, not even Hashirama, the strongest person he knew. He felt something in his chest tighten when he saw her running past him to meet her comrade.

It was then when everything went silent and the women looked around them. They must have realized where they were, because their eyes were wide open and they went rigid. The tension was broken by Izuna's pained cry

"Otouto" he heard Takato say. As Madara started to run to help his siblings, he saw this Sakura girl leaning into Izuna her hands glowing green.

"What do you think you're doing" Takato said, kunai in his grip.

"Sakura…" the other woman said looking at him with her guard up.

"I can heal him, I am a medic" she said firmly and looked straight to Takato's sharingan. He felt she was not a threat and was surprised that she was not scared of his dojutsu. There were no lies in her green eyes, and he looked to the other female. Sharingan connected, and she nodded. "She is the only one that can save him" She answered his unspoken question, like she was reading his mind.

Takato let this girl help his Otouto while his anija appeared next to them. He didn't say a word but watched as the female started to heal Izuna's wounds like magic.

"Who are you?" Madara asked. The girl barely acknowledge him, since she was focused in her healing.

"Sakura Haruno" She answered without looking at him. Takato looked at the other woman questionly and she again answer the unspoken "Hikari Takishima"

"Haruno-San, what are you doing to my brother?" The Uchiha patriarch asked worried, but still in a polite way. His brother life seemed to be on the hands of this petite woman.

"He has internal damage, I'm fixing it. But he has an infection that has persisted for at least one week. He'll die of septicemia soon if I don't treat him." The kunoichi explained. "We can't move him now; I need to complete the treatment. I believe you were in the middle of a battle or something. I recommend you to stop fighting and tend your wounded ones" Sakura continued bitterly. "Hikari-chan, how many injured do you see?"

The mentioned scanned with her sharingan the whole battleground. "I see more than forty fallen" she answered.

"I need you to please evaluate which are the worse ones and start first aid. Can you feel everybody's chakra?" Sakura said

The sharingan faded from Hikari's eyes as she concentrated and closed her eyes. Madara and Takato were watching her feeling her chakra changing. Hashirama was in awe, first there was this young lady with the gift of healing chakra like him, but she could use it in other people which he couldn't, secondly there was this other girl with sharingan eyes, now molding her chakra in something he knew very well: Senjutsu. Tobirama had lowered his sword, but looked at them suspiciously.

Hikari opened her eyes and they were yellow to orange sunburst, with toad pupils and butterfly wings purple shade all through her eyelids and upper cheekbone. She focused her chakra in feeling everybody in the field, checking for injures or depletion. She suddenly became pale and looked at Hashirama and Madara angrily.

"YOU MONSTERS!" she shouted with anguished hatred, that made Sakura, Takato and even Tobirama look at her. Both Uchiha and Senju clansmen too. "THERE ARE CHILDREN IN THIS BATTLEFIELD" she continued "HO-HOW COULD YOU, YOU DESPICABLE MEN, WHEN WILL YOU LEARN THAT WAR ONLY BRINGS DEATH AND SUFFER" her chakra started to flare from her body "YOU… YOU DON'T DESERVE THE TITLE OF LEADERS OF YOUR CLAN, UNLESS YOUR JOB IS TO LEAD THEM TO DEATH" She spat. The men looked a bit hurt and almost guilty from her words but she didn't care.

"HIKARI CHAN" Sakura called. She didn't answer, the pink haired could see the hatred and pain on her friend. "Hikari- Chan" Sakura again called, Hikari took a step forward Madara and Hashirama glaring at them menacely. "TAICHO!" Sakura shouted.

Hikari froze at that name, she remembered that rank was given to her before all of this happened and Sakura mocking her with the name. She remembered who she was facing, and were they were. This was wrong, she remembered Hamura telling her that she deserved to be happy. How on earth sending them to the past would make them happy? She relaxed, chakra not flaring from her anymore.

"Taicho, how many? Please, situation inform" Sakura said softly but with the authority her rank as Jonin Medic Nin demanded.

"Five kids badly hurt, three dead. Another two that are barely harmed." Hikari answered obediently, in the medic field Sakura was her superior, even if she outranked her.

"Please tend the badly hurt. We can't do anything but mourn the dead ones, but later." Sakura went back to give her full attention to Izuna, who was slowly showing more color in his face.

Takato stood up abruptly and faced Hikari. "How can I be of help?" he asked serious face full of determination and sincerity. The kunoichi watched him for a moment. This guy was a new face to her, she could recognize Uchiha Madara, and the Shodaime and Nidaime, she could tell he was one of Madara's brother, but she put away the thought for a moment. "Do you know how to make tourniquets?" She asked. The Uchiha nodded. "Ok follow me; there are three Senju kids that are in need of that while I treat the others. You'd want to keep the sharingan activated, it may scare them but you'll need it to see if you're doing things right" she ordered. Takato looked at Madara before following her, as if he was remembering that he acted on his own without asking for his anija and clan's leader permission. And to help the enemy none the less! Madara was looking at him curious, and he could swear he could see a glint of pride in his eyes. Then the elder Uchiha looked at Hashirama. "It's Ok, you are allowed to help my clan Takato-San" the Senju said kindly.

"Anija!" Tobirama asked outraged.

"It's fine Tobi, there's no point in fighting now. We need to tend our wounded ones and honor our fallen. Madara, I put my hands up in signal of peace. Shall we help each other if needed" Hashirama said to his friend and rival, who answered "It's fine by me Hashirama, our living ones are priority. The children first."

With that Hikari kept going through the Senju with Takato following her. She showed him who needed the tourniquets and he started to give first aid. She used that moment to keep scanning.

"Hashirama-sama" she suddenly said out loud. The mentioned looked at her wondering what was going on and a bit surprised she used his given name so freely – though not unrespectfully. "I will need your help with an Uchiha kunoichi. She is hurt but not badly, the problem is that she is suffering from chakra depletion and she is pregnant"

Hashirama looked at Madara accusingly, how could he let a pregnant woman go on war? "I believe she doesn't know" Hikari added like if she was feeling the atmosphere "She seems to be two weeks pregnant. You have to transfer her some of your chakra so she can heal herself with your help. Sakura can't let Uchiha-san go right now, and I don't have the power. Please." She begged to the two clan heads. The eldest Senju looked at his friend who allowed him to help. He went willingly to the woman Hikari had showed him and started to transfer chakra to her. If he could use his chakra to heal just like this Sakura medic, he would be of more help. He made a mental note about asking the females to teach him that.

"Everybody start healing your comrades" Madara ordered to his clansmen "Haruno-san, is there anything I can do to help my Otouto? To help you?" he kneeled in front of her beside his brother.

Sakura looked at him for the first time and said "You could transfer him some of your chakra too, it will empower my healing in his system." Madara obliged. Tobirama was still in his place, looking everything with wide eyes, his anija tending an Uchiha pregnant woman, Madara and this pink haired girl were treating Izuna, the other girl and that Uchiha bastard were helping his clan for kami's sake! Even the clansmen from both sides were helping his comrades. This was upside down, they were supposed to be fighting, not playing nurse.

"Takishima-san, this youngling is still losing blood in spite of having done the tourniquet on his leg" Takato said to Hikari who was now tending another Senju boy with healing chakra. She hurried and went next to the Uchiha to watch what was going on.

"You've probably harm him on purpose, you filthy Uchiha" Tobirama spat as he took a step closer to them gripping his katana. Hikari stood up, kunai in hand and faced the future Nidaime "Don't you dare to do or say anything to him, at least he's helping selflessly unlike you who are only being an asshole" finished with a bit of hatred in her voice. Takato looked at her surprised.

"TOBIRAMA" Hashirama said from his place next to the Uchiha woman with such an authority that sent shivers down the spine. "Stop meddling and help your comrades with the fallen ones. Do not protest brother, and help your people."

Tobirama's face was furiously red, but he couldn't realize if it was of anger or embarrassment. He stepped back and went to help the women and men he sensed were more harmed. But only Senju's. Hashirama smiled bitterly as he noticed that.

Takato was still looking at Hikari when she turned back to him and started to scan the Little Boy. He couldn't figure out this woman yet, but he immediately turns his attention to the Senju boy.

"Hi kid, what's your name?" Hikari asked tenderly to the struggling boy, while Takato was still holding the tourniquet. "Don be scared, I'm Hikari and this is umm Takato-San, right?" she heard Hashirama-sama calling him that way. The Uchiha nodded "we're trying to make you feel better" she continued.

"Aa-an Uchi-ha-ha?" the boy asked in disbelief

"Yes I am an Uchiha" Takato answered "but I'm not your enemy now, I only want you to be fine" he smiled truthfully to the boy "I have my sharingan activated to see better while I help you, you can close your eyes if you're scared of mine".

"I-Im not scared" the kid breathed proudly. "I'm Ichigo" he finally said.

"Ichigo-kun, I'm going to scan your body with healing chakra, you may feel it a bit weird but its harmless, do you understand?" Hikari asked. The boy nodded. Hikari's hands glowed green as she started to scan from head to toe the boy.

"You have weird eyes" Ichigo said to her.

Hikari continued to talk to the boy to maintain him calm "you know, this are frog eyes" she said as she kept working

"F-frogs?" it was a good sign he was still conscious. Hikari saw Takato was curious too so she answered.

"I have learnt some abilities from an ancient toad and my eyes became like the ones of a frog when I activate them. It is called Senjutsu" she continued. She still hadn't found what was wrong with him until…

"SAKURA" the Takishima shouted. "PLEASE I NEED YOU HERE"

Everybody stopped at her words. Sakura, who was still healing Izuna, raised her head and looked to Hikari inquisitively. "IT'S HIS SPLEEN" her friend said.

Sakura looked back to Madara, and then to Izuna and her still glowing green hands. Madara realized what was going on and asked her "Is he out of danger?" he was speaking about his brother. Sakura looked at his sharingan eyes, and finally _saw_ Uchiha Madara -not that she didn't know it was him when she looked at him, but the shock of everything that was going on didn't give her a time to contemplate some things. This guy in front of her, who was gently passing chakra to his brother, was looking at her worriedly. There was no hate in his eyes, no thirst of power, only pure concern.

"Is he out of danger?" The Uchiha leader asked gently again to her. She must be really concerned, he thought.

"Y-Yes, he is, but…" Sakura started

"Then go" Madara interrupted "You'll check on him when you finish. What can I do to help?"

Sakura was in awe. This was not the Madara she knew! "Just keep passing him chakra, you'll help his cells to heal more quick. I took care of the infection, he won't die of septicemia" she managed to say as she got up looking at him. Madara nodded and then the kunoichi left to help the Senju kid. She was intriguing, he thought.

"Let me check" the pink haired kunoichi said as she kneeled next to Ichigo "Hi! I'm Sakura" she said in her pediatrics medic mode "I'm a friend of Hikari-Chan and I'll heal you"

"I-Ichigo" the boy said trying to smile to her but failing.

"Ichigo-kun, does it hurt here" she said as she applied pressure in his abdomen. She didn't need an answer, in that moment the boy scream filled the silent battlefield. "Okay, breathe deeply, I'm going to check your head" she said as she set her hands on his scalp and emanated more green chakra. Then the boy lost consciousness

"He's passed out" Takato said worried

"I put him to sleep, I need to operate him now" Sakura said.

"Here in the middle of a battlefield!?" the Uchiha couldn't believe what he was hearing

"Yes, I need lots of water and alcohol of any type. Does anybody have some sort of recipient to put the water? Not a canteen, I need to access it with my hands" she raised her voice. One Uchiha warrior took of his armor and gave Sakura his breastplate. "This will do, thank you Uchiha San".

Another Senju did water jutsu and filled the armor with clean water and kneeled next to it if she needed to replace it. An Uchiha offered a bottle with what it smelled to be Sake.

Sakura poured the alcohol over the boy's abdomen and with a chakra scalpel proceeded to cut it open. Madara was looking everything from where he was with Izuna, Hashirama, who had already helped the Uchiha kunoichi that was doing fine, stood up and walked to them. Tobirama too, from his place looked everything that was going on.

"Uchiha –San please continue applying pressure on his wound. Hikari- Chan please go to his head and give me vitals. I may need you to transfer him chakra if needed". Sakura commanded on her medic mode.

Both shinobis did what was said, Takato applied pressure, and Hikari linked herself with the boy's temples through senjutsu. The pink haired medic had to remove his spleen; it was severely injured causing a massive hemorrhage. She used the water combined with the technique of removing poison to remove all the blood to be sure that he wouldn't come down with an infection, she could help him but they still didn't have the technology to help further if this got worse. They were in the past for kami's sake! Once she could remove all the hemorrhage she used more healing chakra to make sure the intern tissue was fixed and there was no damage left. Fortunately his vitals were fine, so she proceeded to close him up and then tend to the wound in his leg that was being pressed by Takato.

Once the boy was fully healed, she ordered Hikari to wake him up meanwhile Sakura got up and started to scan the area to help the kids the Uchiha had put the tourniquets to.

When Ichigo opened his eyes the first thing he saw was Takato to his left and Hikari to his right. He mumbled something that sounded like "Taa-Kun" and "Frog Princess" and lost conscious. Sakura checked him up and told them that it was only exhaustion and that he was fine.

"He'll need a lot of sleep" she said smiling to the Senju that had lifted the child and was carrying him to take him back to the Senju Camp.

Hikari and Takato watched the boy as the man walked away.

"He's a tough kid, I'm glad we could help him" she said.

"What do you say? I couldn't do anything" the young Uchiha said defeated

"Come on! You were the one that realized something wasn't right and called me!" she reprimanded him "if you hadn't done it, he would be dead for sure now"

The man was in disbelief, so she looked at him with her dojutsu fading into her brown greenish eyes and said with a huge bright smile "You saved the life of a Senju child" and then as an afterthought added "I'm sorry that I called you Monster earlier"

Takato opened his eyes widely and blushed a little. He didn't take the 'monsters' thing as an insult actually, but what stunned him most was to hear he saved a Senju. A child. He hated the war, and he knew his aniki too. Madara was driven to this by their father. He was against children being at the front lines, but the Clan Elders were difficult to dissuade, they were a pain in the back. In Battlefield you're used to death, though he had never actually killed somebody by meaning it, just for self-defense and to protect the children and women. It was almost a silent agreement he had with Madara. He was, as part of his name means, like a falcon that watched over the people during battle.

To hear that he had really saved a child of the enemy clan and not even fighting shifted something inside him.

"You were right though" he finally told the girl "We do are monsters that allow this to happen. I want peace; I know my brother wants it. And I know Hashirama-San too" he added the last looking past her to the Elder Senju. "I'm not proud of this enmity and I don't feel like a proud shinobi. But if what you said is true, I can tell you that I'm really proud of giving that child another chance to live" he said looking back to her and suddenly deactivating his Sharingan.

Madara was impressed by his brother's words and actions. The Sharingan was their best weapon and defense and to turn it off in front of this woman it meant that Takato was acknowledging her as 'not a threat'. He always felt that his brother and he were a bit alike, they did have honor and could acknowledge somebody worth, though he was more impulsive and Takato tend to bring him back to reality. Izuna was the worse of the trio; he acted almost every time on impulse. He really wanted this fight to end and he didn't want to lose more family. He just wanted to create that dream he had with his childhood friend.

"He's right" The elder Uchiha stated standing up with Izuna unconscious in his back. "We need to stop this Hashirama; we can't afford to lose our people, our friends, our family. Do you even know why we are enemies? Because I don't. Father never told me"

"My friend, the cause of this confrontation is lost in our history too. You know that I want peace more than anything" Hashirama said and heard Tobirama snorting "I know you too want it Tobi, don't be so prideful".

The future Nidaime crossed his arms and looked away "True, but I don't trust them" he spat.

"And neither do we trust you" Takato interrupted "But we must learn how to do that in order to save our people. Look, you may play it cool being so cocky and that, but I know you have lost the same that I have. Uchiha killed your family. Senju killed mine. We don't have anything to probe, only that we are better than our predecessors and can grow up in spite of the differences. We MUST not be monsters" ebony eyes locked seriously with red ones.

Hikari and Sakura were looking at the exchange with expectation from their spots. They were probably witnessing the birth of Konoha and they knew it was wrong to be there but yet it felt so natural. The medic had just finished checking on everybody and she was walking towards Madara to check his brother's vitals when she stopped to hear Takato. The Takishima girl was still in front of Takato, looking how he spoke with Tobirama. It looked like the Senju had dropped his guard a little with his last words. If they weren't born enemies, they might have been friends as their brothers she thought.

"Tobi, I believe it's everything for today, isn't it? And maybe it's everything for this feud too. I'd like to end this war, to have peace with the Uchiha" Hashirama spoke, and the last words were to everybody in his Clan. The Senju warriors were looking at their leader with mixed emotion, but mostly with pride and hope.

"You know you can't do anything without the Council to approve" Tobirama said seriously to his brother crossing his arms in front of his chest plate.

"True, but in this Battlefield I have the authority. We can convince the Council when we arrive on the camp. What do you think dear brother?" The elder brother spoke.

Tobirama looked at his brother for a while and then he looked back to Madara and Izuna, and to those suspicious kunoichi. He finally looked at Takato who hadn't activated his sharingan again and was looking at him thoughtfully with his onyx eyes.

"You have my support brother" He finally said looking to Hashirama in the eye.

Hashirama beamed with a huge smile and walked to Madara saying: "Dear friend, I offer you my hand in a peace sign to end this battle". The future Shodaime had his hand up in a peace shinobi sign, two fingers extended together waiting for his friend's answer.

Madara looked at his people cautiously. He mostly saw shinobi nodding and heard them murmur with approval. He looked at Izuna whose head was resting on his shoulder plate and then he looked to Takato who nodded at him. He took two steps in Hashirama's direction and extended two fingers responding the greeting.

"Please take the wounded back to the camps we'll meet you immediately" both Clan leaders said to their own. The shinobi started to pack and left the Battlefield.

When they were alone Hashirama spoke to Madara: "I think it is time to talk about an alliance and our childhood dream". The only ones left were them, their brothers and the two mysterious kunoichi

"Are you talking about the Village?" Madara asked and the Senju nodded. "I don't think our people are prepared for that yet. How can we create a Village with both our Clans if our most trusted ones don't trust in anything or anybody" he added looking at Tobirama, who glared at him.

"We need to start from something brother" Takato interrupted him putting a hand on his free shoulder "If you don't try, we won't know if it can work".

Madara meditate a little about this, and then looked at the Kunoichi next to them. "What do you think about this?" she asked the girls looking Hikari first and then staring into Sakura. They looked surprised that Uchiha Madara was asking their opinion. They didn't understand why though.

"It's not a bad Idea" the brunette said "you saw your men, they were eager to end this too. And probably their families at the camps will agree too, soy you both have people on your side".

"She's right" Sakura added "You are the Clan Leader, all you need is to convince your councils and everything will be fine. For that you need to find a good reason to forge an alliance. Strategy is the best one for now. Together you are stronger, you can protect each other form common enemies and so". She was used to strategy and knew a bit of politics too, the benefit of being the Godaime's apprentice. She used to talk to Hikari and Shikamaru about what would they do in some 'what if' scenarios when they were bored.

Both Clan leaders looked at the pink haired girl as if she had grown a second head. Or so Sakura thought.

"Brilliant!" Hashirama exclaimed "You young lady just gave us the perfect argument to confront our councils"

"Those old hags won´t be able to say no to that. And with what happened today I think we can make a case" Madara added with a slightly glint of joy in his stoic façade "Hyuuga are now against of both clans, and they already think we're working together. Speaking of Hyuuga…" the eldest Uchiha looked at Sakura's crater. It was done just about one or two hours ago, and they still were unconscious. "I believe we should move from here before they wake up, our comrades have already left safely" and then he signaled the forest.

The six of them –seven if you counted Izuna on Madara's back - moved into the woods far from the white eyed clansmen.

"We need to go anija" Tobirama said to Hashirama once they stopped next to a bunch of thick and tall trees. "If you want your plan to succeed, you must speak to them right now. Also, our people are waiting for us. We can all gather tomorrow to further the plans of peace and this dream of yours" he continued with an emotionless face.

"Oh Tobi, you really love your aniki don't you?" Hashirama said in a saccharine voice full of mock and playfulness. "You want to see me making my dreams come true!" he threaten to hug Tobirama, who was about to pop a vein on his forehead. "Hahaha Ok, calm down" he added raising his hands to protect himself as if his brother was about to hit him "I know that if you say this is because you think it's the best for our people, and that we may succeed". That seemed to calm the younger brother, who just sighed.

"Then we must leave to speak with our people" Madara said.

"Will you ladies accompany us?" Hashirama politely asked

"Umm I'm sorry but we prefer not to be associated with any clan" Hikari answered "we'll camp near here"

"Oh no, please allowed me to insist, come with us" the elder Senju asked. As the girls denied again, he tried another strategy "you're not planning on staying here, aren't you?" he asked in disbelief.

"I think it's the best" the elder kunoichi said "we can't go to the Merchant village now; they might be looking for us".

"Then let me build you a small house for you to stay safe, you can hide it with genjutsu" Hashirama pleaded

"Don't worry, we can make a refuge in the treetops" she said, they didn't want to bother him, they actually had no clue what was going to happen nor what to do next, and a house seemed like too much for them. They just wanted to rest, and maybe clean her selves.

"Very well, if you insist" the Senju smiled and they heard rustle above them. They all looked up to the trees and watched in awe how the branches started to move and grow in all directions forming some kind of nest that looked like a dome. It was like a big hornero bird nest. "You have your shelter done, hope it's comfy so you don't need to worry about predators and the weather" Hashirama just beamed brightly. He was so Naruto – alike.

"Thank you Sir, you've outdone yourself" Hikari told him with a bow and giggling as he laughed scratching the back of his head.

"Haruno-San" Madara's deep voice called Sakura. She turned back looking at him with curiosity. He was still with Izuna on his back and he was handing her two small scrolls with his free hand. "I will always be in debt with you for saving my brother's life. Please take these storage scrolls with you, one has some cots you can use, and the other one has food, some clothes and other supplies. I believe you'll want to change your clothes and clean yourselves".

The two kunoichi looked at themselves realizing that they were awfully dirty, they had dry blood all over her since their fight on the merchant village, and from the wounds they tended, also they had dirt mixed with sweat. Their faces burned realizing how they were looking, also that their clothes may not be appropriated for this era.

Sakura extended her arm and took the scrolls. She tried to not pay attention how her heart skipped a beat when Madara´s fingers brushed hers accidentally, but failed miserably blushing harder. Fortunately, the rest of them thought it was from the embarrassment of their looks. Madara felt his cheeks burn a little while their fingers touched. He didn't do that on purpose, but he felt some kind of electricity.

He cleared his throat and said seriously "Don't worry the clothes don't have our Uchiha emblem, they're simply plain clothes" and looked away from Sakura to Hikari, who was eyeing him with amusement.

"Thank you very much Uchiha-Sama" Hikari bowed her ears still a bit red from the shame.

"You can find a river just walking 30 minutes to the north" Takato said to the brunette smiling, it was a cute to see how she looked so embarrassed right now when she had confronted Tobirama so harshly not long ago. He suddenly thought of something and grabbed his katana from his back and handed it to her "I don't know if you have any more weapons, but please take this katana just to know you're safe, bet you know how to use it".

Hikari couldn't believe this guy. He was giving her _his_ katana for extra protection, and he barely know her "I can't accept this, you'll be weaponless, it's too much…" she started.

"It's fine" he interrupted her "I still have some kunai and I'll be travelling with my Aniki, who is the strongest person I know" he said mockingly to Madara to relieve his nervousness. He realized that his aniki felt wired after the exchange with the pink haired medic. He'll talk to him later about that.

"Hn, ok. Thank you again" she grabbed the weapon and put her on her belt.

"Can we leave now Hashirama?" Tobirama interrupted out loud. He was bored of the Uchiha being gentleman with those women. He was a gentleman too but he would not be stripping himself of his supplies and dear weapons. Hashirama would certainly do so, but not him and not for a stranger.

"Oh yes brother, we must go. Can we turn this place like some sort of white zone? A peace zone where we can settle this peace and what will come?" the future Shodaime asked.

"O-of course, you made this place anyway" Sakura said, they couldn't refuse.

"Very well, with that settled, we will come the day after tomorrow in the morning to start planning" Hashirama clapped his hands in joy "Hope you can rest, if anything happens, please spike your chakra and Tobi will feel it"

"Hn" said his bother rolling his eyes, man he could be Sasuke's ancestor! And with that they left.

Madara and Takato bid their goodbyes too and started to run on the opposite direction with Izuna now on the younger's back.

As the girls saw them disappear in the horizon, they sigh in relief.

"What the hell was that" Hikari Said.

"Looks like… wait I don't know. I only hope we go to sleep today and then find that this was only a dream" Sakura complained

"Yeah…" Hikari answered doubtfully, and with that they jumped to their 'nest', not realizing that a pair of white eyes was watching them.

**Author's note*******

**IT'S FINALLY HERE! The meeting, this is something I had in my head for months. I will start to develop everything, and this might be a long fic, with long chapters (5k+ words gosh!).**

**We got to see Sakura field medic mode and Hikari's bad temper when she's tired of everything. Also the interaction with the founders. I think some of you would think 'my' Madara is too OOC but this is the way I think he would be if he hadn't experienced loss, and met Zetsu. He was a lovely brat when he met Hashirama. I tried to give Hashirama that joyful aura and Tobi the seriousness we see on the fourth war when he appears in front of Sasuke.**

**Hope you like this! Thanks for the faves and follows!**


	8. Night

**Disclaimer: I would love to own Naruto, but my dreams of owning DBZ come first. And they're not coming true soon, so… Oh, straight to the poverty.**

_Uchiha Camp_

The Uchiha camp was actually not a real camp; it was full of petite houses and some small buildings. When Madara inherited the title of Clan Leader he had built them with the Mokuton, because the tents didn't work well. His father had been against him using that Jutsu because he discovered Madara had secretly learnt it from Hashirama Senju. The eldest son was always looking for what was best for the Clan.

As he entered in the main compound where they lived, Izuna woke up on Takato's back.

"Aniki?" he asked eyeing Madara "Taka-nii?" realizing he was resting on top of his brother. "What happened? Did I pass out?"

"Otouto, how do you feel?" Takato answered with a question, while he was helping him to climb off from his back to stand up. Both he and Madara looked at Izuna as if he was going to break like crystal.

"I'm fine! What's wrong with you guys? Did we lose?" he was starting to lose his temper.

"Well, actually…" the Middle brother said looking at the eldest Uchiha who had an odd expression, he appeared to be happy, ashamed, relieved, and tired and at the same time had this façade he used with everybody except them. He had not relaxed yet to lose it.

"Oh come on Aniki, don't make me pull a Katon on you!" the youngest looked at Madara annoyed.

"You were badly injured during the fight, Takato was going to help you but Tobirama was fastest and almost kill you both with his katana" the clan leader stated bluntly.

"And?" he interrupted seeing as his brother wasn't speaking fluidly

"Two kunoichi appeared in the middle of the fight causing Tobirama to stop his attack. They were being chased by the Hyuuga, and were bloody and beaten. They fought 20 of them and left them unconscious in front of both Senju and ours armies" He continued. It was like hearing a council report.

"WHAT?" how could I miss that?" he said displeased "wait a minute, how did they look?"

"One looked like an Uchiha but wasn't. She even had the Sharingan" Takato intervened. He knew his brother was going to make another question, so he continued "the other one had healing powers like Hashirama Senju but wasn't from his clan. She had pink hair".

"She was the one to help me, right?" Izuna asked eager for more information.

"You remember her?" this time Madara spoke and looked surprised, his façade lost "You passed out of the pain and almost contracted septicemia. You also had internal damage. She saved you" and now his voice was full of emotion, he was relieved his younger brothers were safe and sound.

"I remember feeling a foreign chakra soothing my pain because my head felt like it was about to blow up and it suddenly stopped. I tried to open my eyes but all I saw was pink hair" he shared with his siblings. "Please tell me what happened. It seems like we didn't lose, but we didn't win" he was becoming suspicious.

They told him everything, what happened between the clans, the help, the surgery Sakura had to perform in the middle of the battlefield, Hikari calling them monsters, Tobirama being Tobirama. And the peace settled with Hashirama that may live to a truce and a future village.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute" Izuna said rising his hands in front of him when they finished the tale "So we're going to a truce with the Senju because some random girl calls us monsters? That's what it took to finish this feud?" he couldn't believe what was going on "Come on, you now I want peace too aniki, but this seems suspicious. What was her name again?" he asked.

"Hikari Takishima" Takato answered "But Izuna..."

"Wasn't Takishima the name of that mad pseudo scientist father killed years ago? What if she's related to him? Takishima is mostly a name not a last name, and it's not even a clan, and she does have the sharingan. This guy wanted to mess with our eyes, I remember father telling me that story" Madara looked at him and started to evaluate that possibility, but it didn't feel right. That girl seemed truthful, and so did Sakura.

"I understand your reasoning, but I don't feel they're enemies. Call it a gut instinct, but they seemed true. They could have left you for dead, and they didn't. I think it would be better for you to come with us to know them, so you can make your own conclusions" the Patriarch told him.

"Very well then, when shall I meet them?" he mockingly asked annoyed again

"The day after tomorrow we'll be heading to their shelter to speak with the Senju. You'll meet them there. Now Anija has to speak with the council and you must rest" Takato stated, ending the conversation. "No buts, just take a bath and go to sleep. You smell" he added smirking. Izuna was about to protest, but his brother just pushed him to the small onsen behind the house and closed the door behind him.

Madara headed to the council room with Takato on his side. The latter was his official advisor given that Izuna was the younger brother. As they entered the place they heard some murmur coming from the counselors, they already knew what had happened.

"Ah, Madara-Sama" an old grey haired Uchiha called "we're glad to see you safe and sound, we believe it was an odd battle" he added with a glint of sarcasm on his voice as he narrowed his very wrinkled eyes.

"Majime-san, it was odd indeed, but I believe you don't need to be told about it. You already know everything about what happened, am I right?" Madara said gracefully, and getting straight to the point he added "My brother and I are here to discuss a truce with the Senju and the possibility to create a Village together, so we can settle down and stop being nomads, not that I mind building houses every time we move."

The murmur became louder and it morphed into a discussion. It looked that they were discussing this before they came to the building. Some of them where shouting things like 'Senju Scum' and 'those bastards', but others tried to reason and said things like 'It's about time to stop this' or 'it will be a great opportunity'.

Madara Cleared his throat loudly and spoke: "I know most of you are against that, but you're not the ones that go to war every day. I see our people pain daily. Some of you claim to do everything for the sake of our clan, but then again forget that families are being teared apart because of this feud. You still send children to war. With my brothers we do what we can to protect them from your orders, from the harm, but we can't save everybody. YOU CAN."

During his speech he became more passionate and remembered Takato's words after that Takishima girl spoke and added: "You are the ones to choose if you want to be monsters or heroes. I know what I want to be and my brother here too. And if you are against this, I will speak to our people personally and make them vote for what they want. You'll be surprised of the results" Now Madara had his sharingan activated without realizing. Boy he hated the council; they were the ones that influenced his father to behave the way he had. They were the reason of all his lose.

"You conceited brat have the guts to come here and say we don't go to war. We fought with your grandparent for Kami's sake! You..." Majime san started with his sharingan activated menacely but was suddenly cut off by Takato who had his dojutsu spinning fast.

"I'd recommend you not to speak to your Clan Leader that way my lord, and don't threat him with your sharingan. It could be considered as treason" He said calming the ruckus almost immediately. When his eyes stopped spinning, the three tomoe spent in place and he continued calmly "We know our respected lords that you fought for our Clan. But as you said, you fought with our grandfather, and that was almost 50 years ago. Time has changed, and the people don't want nor need war no more. War may only be needed to protect, not to attack without even really understanding why".

"Takato-sama you've grown to be a very reasonable young man" another voice said kindly. This time it was another elder, grey haired too but less wrinkled. His face emanated calmness.

"Kido-San, it's good to see you in good health" the younger Uchiha said. "Please tell us what you think about this" he trusted this man judgement. He was one of the few Uchiha men that wasn't so stiff and proud, and also the council leader.

"Is it true that there is a girl with the sharingan that is not form our Clan?" the man asked. Takato nodded so he continued "do you think her dojutsu was real and not implanted?" the young man nodded again and then Kido-San addressed everybody. "Dear Lords, I Believe there are two issues in this story, the first one is to decide if we're going to a truce with the Senju and maybe create a village, and the other thing it's what worries you most, this girl with the Sharingan that is not from our clan. We must set priorities. The girl seems to be of no harm to our clan, am I right?" he asked the last thing looking to Madara.

"She doesn't seem a threat, I sensed no evil on her chakra" Madara answered serious, his sharingan never fading.

"Then it's settled, we'll get to that issue later. First things first: Do we need to keep fighting with the Senju?" he looked at everybody in the room waiting for their reactions. Each member answered to that question with a bit of discomfort, but mostly of them said that they didn't need the fight; it was actually leaving them without earnings and people.

"Shall we go to a truce? Of course we must determinate our demands, but shall we?" again everybody looked discomforted, but it wasn't because they didn't want to, it was because sometimes it was difficult to speak your mind at the council with some big bullies that tend to fix all interns with threat. The same people that didn't want to fight anymore voted yes for the truce.

"Very well then, you have your first answer Madara Sama" Kido San bowed to the Clan leader. "We voted yes for peace. Now please do tell us about this idea of a Village of yours".

Boy this was going to be a long night, Madara thought.

* * *

_Senju camp_

Like the Uchiha Camp the Senju was full of houses too, but they were better built because Hashirama excelled in Mokuton. It was like somehow his cheerfulness did everything better for him. Madara thought he was actually an optimistic lucky bastard.

Hashirama exited the house of Senju Keito, Ichigo Kun's grandmother. He was awake now, and had started to eat some onigiri to regain strength. He didn't speak a lot, but when he saw his Clan Leader in his house he started to say that Uchiha were good people, and that the Frog Princess was like a fairy. The elder Senju laughed about this, and told Keito-san that he was going to be ok.

Tobirama was waiting for him outside with his arms crossed in front of his chest, with a serious expression.

"I told you not to worry, the youngling is doing great. He has become an Uchiha Fan" Hashirama said and then burst into laughter "Oh my, have you heard what I've said? Uchiha FAN, oh boy am I eloquent or what"

"Yes, and you're also full of yourself anija" the younger Senju said with disdain. "We must go and speak with the council if you still want that peace of yours, we don't have all day"

Later in the Senju council room, the picture was similar to the Uchiha. All the elders were discussing everything that happened. As Hashirama entered the room he was bombarded with questions and complains, but mostly he was being accused of preferring his forbidden friendship with the Uchiha scum, instead of his clan. The Clan Leader felt overwhelmed about this and couldn't speak because of his nervousness. That's when Tobirama came to the rescue.

"Everybody please shut yourselves up, and let your Clan Leader speak" he stated in an authoritarian tone, he was obviously more capable to manage this jerks than his brother, who was too kind for his sake. "I'll pretend to have not heard you calling my Brother traitor as you implied by saying he preferred his friendship than his people. I'll pretend that you are polite people instead of a bunch of old hags that don't go to war anymore and became bourgeoisies. So I expect that you'll keep quiet and listen to what my Anija has to say to you". Tobirama was expelling a killing aura, and everybody became silent.

Hashirama sweat dropped but smiled to his little brother. He loved how Tobi could be so protective of him. The mentioned one blushed faintly in awkwardness when he looked at how his brother beamed looking at him, kami; he really was too kind for his own good. The albino cleared his throat and stared at his anija to bring him back to reality.

"Oh Yes" the elder said "As you already know, we fought a battle with the Uchiha which ended in truce. The Uchiha second-in-line heir helped save five of our children, and I helped an Uchiha pregnant kunoichi in exchange. Everybody started to help everybody, not minding his clan or rank" he said the last one eyeing Tobirama, who rolled his eyes annoyed "The thing is that we've learnt that war is not the answer. We knew it for a long time; but that time wasn't right to set things straight, know it is. So that's why I motion to go to a complete truce with the Uchiha clan, and also create a Village where both Clans can cohabitate and may be invite other clans to join us" Hashirama ended.

The counselors started to discuss what his leader had just said and they were divided. While they thought of their eternal rivalry with the Sharingan users, they couldn't deny that they had saved their people. And from what they learnt, it wasn't with any hidden agenda.

Tobirama cleared his throat again and the chattering ended. One of the elders, a petit fat woman with still brown hair raised up and spoke: "We believe it's time to end this feud and go to a truce, but we must have warranties that this is not a trap or anything that can harm us" she looked at the eldest brother thoughtfully.

"Wata-San arigato for your answer, we are going to see the Uchiha again the day after tomorrow and we'll speak about the warranties" Hashirama alleged "And how about the Village?"

"Hashirama-Sama, we would like you to be accompanied to that meeting not only by your brother, but also by Toka-San. She was in that battle and was the one to report us. She told that the Uchiha behave honorably, especially Uchiha Takato. As for the Village do tell us about your idea"

Thanks Kami this was going to be a good night, Hashirama thought.

* * *

In the forest

The girls were releasing the things Madara had given to them, they took two cots out and some clothes that were near their size - they must have been Izuna's or Takato's – and then they looked over the food and amenities that were also stored. Fortunately there was some soap, so the first thing they planned to do was to take a bath in the river before the sunset. They stored the clean clothes on one empty scroll and took it with them, grabbed the soap and jumped off the nest. Hikari with her Mangekyo sharingan on did the stronger genjutsu she could manage to hide their refuge, and then both left to bathe.

It took less than 30 minutes to find the river because they run and jumped as if they were on a battlefield, eager to clean themselves. Though the water was really cold, it felt great to get rid of the mud and blood. Twenty minutes later they were dressed on Uchiha fresh clothes that consisted in a pair of black pants, a long sleeved black shirt, and a kimono over shirt. Sakura's was dark blue while Hikari's was dark Grey. The Takishima used some wind jutsu mixed with fire jutsu to dry off their hair and they left the river with their now washed old clothes on the scroll to get some rest.

"It was a good idea to have another bunch of our clothes stored with our weapons, I couldn't be wearing these clothes without my undergarments" Sakura said blushing hard when they arrived on the refuge after checking that there were no threats. They didn't want to say to the Uchiha patriarch that they already had clean clothes stored because they didn't want to be disrespectful, and on a second thought they preferred to wear the gifted ones to not attract attention.

"You're right" said Hikari after finishing to set the genjutsu traps. Sakura put other traps, and then started to sort out the food to eat "Now tell me: _why_ are you blushing so hard? It's not that those clothes are from _Sasuke-kun_" she asked amused

If Sakura could become even redder, she would have. She started to sweat from the heat, and she wasn't even sure why.

"I-I… wh-what are you saying Hikari Chan?" she asked putting her hand behind her head and laughing nervously

"I'm only asking why you are so red, they're not even _Madara's_ clothes" she mocked straight to the point.

Sakura was having a hard time "I don't know why you said that" she managed not to stutter and focused on the food on her hands.

"Oh come on, I've noticed how you got nervous when he handed those scrolls" the Takishima said grabbing some onigiri that was still fresh to eat. "I believe he felt something too, you really are fond of the Uchiha"

When Sakura was about to protest, they both became alert because they felt another chakra signature next to them. Suddenly a man appeared from nowhere in their refuge.

"YOU" Hikari hissed looking straight to that pair of white eyes with her Sharingan spinning.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked her guard up.

The owner of the eyes raised his hands and apologetically muttered "I can explain"

"YOU BETTER DO THAT… HAMURA-NII!" The brunette raised her voice to the Ōtsutsuki in front to her.

In the Juubi's name this was going to be an annoying night.

* * *

*****AUTOR'S NOTES*****

The Uchiha are a pain in the back! But we do love them =)

*_**Majime**_ means Seriousness and _**Kido**_ means brightness (this is an obvious name choice)

*_**Keito**_ means wool and _**Wata**_ means cotton

*_**Uchiha Fan joke**_, for those who doesn't know yet, Uchiha (Actually _**uchiwa**_) means Fan in English, that's why their clan symbol is a fan, to increase the strength of their fire. And Fan as in Fanatic and as in blower are homonyms. Hashirama is just being Hashirama.

*_**Ages**_: I've settled these ages because the only real age we know was that Izuna was 24 when he died, but as this is an AU I've put Madara younger to only have 5 years of age difference with Sakura. We actually don't know for sure if the age gap between him and Izuna was one or two years, I went for two and put Takato in the middle. Also, Takato perfectly fits in Madara's life, because he said once he used to be 1 of 5 brothers.

_**Madara & Hashirama:**_ 24

_**Takato**_: 23

_**Izuna, Tobirama & Hikari**_: 22

_**Sakura**_: 19

* Don't kill me; I changed the canon way Madara gained the _**Mokuton**_. If he already had Water and Earth he was clever enough to obtain that chakra nature, this way he is still able to use it thanks to Hashirama, but not gaining his cells (I don't intend to make him bite his friend)


	9. Conversations

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.**

**Recap**_**:**_

"_**YOU" Hikari hissed looking straight to that pair of white eyes with her Sharingan spinning.**_

"_**What are you doing here?" Sakura asked her guard up.**_

_**The owner of the eyes raised his hands and apologetically muttered "I can explain"**_

"_**YOU BETTER DO THAT… HAMURA-NII!" The brunette raised her voice to the Ōtsutsuki in front to her.**_

_**In the Juubi's name this was going to be an annoying night.**_

"You have a lot to explain to us, Ōtsutsuki Hamura!" Hikari said with her arms on her hips like she was scolding a child.

"Boy, this brings back memories of Kokoro scolding me when I got in trouble when I was little" He said a smiling nostalgic.

"Come on, you didn't behave badly, that was Hagoromo-nii" she replicated and suddenly shut up. How could she know that? She didn't have Kokoro's memories, just her chakra.

"You do remember?" Hamura asked looking curious "What did you dream on the pond of genjutsu?"

"I…" she tried to but couldn't remember, she looked at Sakura who shook her head. She didn't recall anything either.

"Maybe it's a glimpse of memories merged in your chakra. Don't worry Imouto you'll be fine" The Ōtsutsuki said thoughtfully.

"Don't _'Imouto'_ me and change subject. You said you can explain everything so be it" Hikari was starting to lose her temper.

"Hamura San please, we need to know why you brought us to the past" Sakura intervened in a calmer way.

The Younger of the legendary siblings sighed and started his tail: "As you can see, I'm a chakra projection of myself. I don't really exist in this time; my spirit is on the moon locked and protecting our mother/Juubi shell. I came with you to help you sort out some things first. I'm sorry but I cannot take you back to your time."

"WHAT?" both kunoichi yelled "Wh-why is that?" Sakura stuttered.

"I don't have the power, as I said; I'm just a Chakra projection." He stated.

"But if we go to the moon…" Sakura started.

"The link with the moon in your time was created because Toneri used his powers recklessly. There is no way to go to the moon here and also you need to know something" he interrupted and the seriously added: "This is a different timeline. You've already changed this present; the future of this time is not the one you came from anymore. So even if you do find a way to time travel, you won't go home."

Both girls remained silent measuring the weight of his words.

"Then… why did you do this?" Hikari whispered hurt; looking to the floor "How is this going to make us happy?" she finally looked at him in the eye, tears forming on hers.

"I've foreseen your futures and you were not going to be happy there. Here you have an opportunity to start again, and also to prevent everything that lead to the waking of our mother" He locked eyes with his sister; he looked like he felt guilty. He was implying something behind his words.

"What are you hiding?" The brunette spoke her mind.

"Once you remember your dreams you may understand better. I cannot tell you anything. I must not intervene in your story…" he was cut but a snort from Hikari, but then continued "I only can tell you that to prevent the fate that came to your other timeline you must heal the Uchiha's curse of hatred, and stop Zetsu's plotting. You have to help Hagoromo's sons to find peace."

"What do you mean?" this time was Sakura who had asked.

"The Senju Clan is the descendant of Asura, and the Uchiha are the descendants of Indra. Hashirama is Asura's reincarnation like Naruto was, and Madara is Indra's one like Sasuke was. Our nephews kept reincarnating until the dispute was settled." He explained. Sakura knew the tale from Naruto, but he hadn't explained everything properly. So… if they could make peace in this time, both brothers would be free and won't harm the world like in their reality. "I couldn't send you to Asura and Indra's time because it was a long way, and also for things I can't say now. This was the perfect time for you; I need you to trust me"

The kunoichi needed some time to think. "I can't stay any longer tonight, my presence is liked to your chakra imouto, and you're almost depleted. You both need to rest, you had a rough time and the interdimensional chakra tires you too. Tomorrow we'll continue chatting"

"Inter-what? My chakra? But…" Hikari protested, though her eyes were betraying her as she was drifting away. Sakura was sleepy too.

"No buts Lady, just sleep. I promise I'd be here when you are alright" he said smiling and moving one of her hairs behind her ear. And with that he vanished and chakra floated into the Takishima's chest where her seal was. Both of the girls moved absentmindly to their cots and almost instantly fell asleep.

* * *

UCHIHA COUNCIL ROOM

"You say that a Village may be good for us because of the protection it brings?" Kido San asked Madara again, to make a point.

"Exactly, as I said strategy is the best reason for now. Together we are stronger, we can protect each other form common enemies and so" he quoted Sakura, though only Takato knew and he saw him hiding his smile "Hyuuga are against of both our clans, and they already think we're working together because of this women suddenly appearing in our battlefield. Also the Senju have healing powers, and we are a great force for defense. It all adds up"

Kido san looked pleased with Madara's words, he thought he had become a great leader and also a good man, but Majime san was outraged.

"And you think that Tobirama Senju won't be trying to kill our people any time? The guy hates us to his gut" the old hag spat.

"He indeed does hate us, but he is loyal to his brother. He won't do anything stupid to put Hashirama on danger. I believe he would even swallow his pride to make the dream of peace come true." The Clan leader answered simply. "I don't like Tobirama, but I understand his way of thought."

"So you're meeting the Senju the morning after tomorrow?" another elder said completely obviating Majime san. It looked that more of the clan elders were starting to take the side of peace and the creation of a village.

"I would like to accompany you, if you don't mind. I would like to speak with that girl with the Sharingan, and also to check her dojutsu if she doesn't mind" Kido san said.

"It may be a bit harsh from us to ask her that, but I think she will agree to do it" this time Takato spoke. "If this is meddling with the peace and everything, I don't think she'll refuse".

"You seem to know her very well" Majime san said again, he was trying to get on the Clan Leaders' nerves, but he couldn't.

"I don't, I only say what I think she may do. Don't try to twist things to your favor" The youngest said looking at the old man with disgust.

"Majime san if you don't have anything good to add, I recommend you to stay silent" Kido san scolded him. The mentioned was furious, but remained in silence.

"Madara-Sama, the morning after tomorrow we'll meet at your door to go to speak to the Senju" Kido continued, "Please get cleaned and rest. I advise you to speak with your clansmen tomorrow to let them know what it may be happening soon. You need to be sure they're ok with that." The elder bowed, and the meeting was dismissed. Most of the counselors greeted Madara and congratulated him for trying to take this risk and being so interested in peace. They still hated Senju but they understood the circumstances, and they were a noble clan, they'd be civilized people, not barbarians.

Both Uchiha brothers entered their home and found Izuna sleeping peacefully. Madara arranged his cot's cover and smiled tenderly full of relief as he saw his Otouto was being the picture of health.

"You may be tough like father, but you still take care of us like mother" Takato almost whispered trying not to awake Izuna. His brother blushed a little and scratched the back of his head uncomfortable.

"Let's clean ourselves and get some sleep" Madara said deeply, hoping that the emotion in his voice wouldn't betray him.

They gathered their stuff and went to the Onsen. Once they were relaxing there they started to talk about everything that happened today.

"I can't believe it's finally happen, we're speaking of peace" Madara said marveled.

"It was really fortuitous that things went that way, it was like fate was twisted" Takato said thoughtfully as he washed his black hair.

"What do you mean?" the elder brother said

"I don't know, but those Kunoichi appeared in the exact moment we were going to be attacked by Tobirama." He stated but his expression revealed that he was trying to find a meaning to all of this.

"Oh, little Takato believes in guarding angels? Madara mocked his brother.

"Shut up, you're so childish" his brother answered annoyed.

"Come on, you immediately put yourself available for help when Takishima-san spoke." The patriarch smirked deviously "It was like _'how can I be of help, Notice me sempai'_. So cute!"

"I doubt she's my sempai, she seems younger than me" Takato said more annoyed than ever. "Also, you were the one blushing and being nervous around Haruno-san. Could it be you are talking about yourself and projecting on me?"

"Enough of that crap, Takato!" Madara said blushing hard

"Shhh… you'll wake Izuna baka!" the youngest scolded his anija.

"How did you call me?" he splashed his brother with water.

"Oh really, you're such a grown up Clan Leader" Takato said al soaked, looking him with a plain face. He grabbed the towel and got out the onsen. "You can change subjects all you want but I've noticed that you became very aware of her since you saw her almost destroying the battlefield." He dried himself up and put some clean clothes "I'm off to sleep, you're impossible tonight. And I had to endure the council like you did, so I'm tired." And he left leaving Madara to his thoughts.

When the patriarch remembered a certain pink haired kunoichi he felt his face growing hot, and immersed in the water up to his nose. That damned Otouto and his mind games!

* * *

Senju camp

"As I said, a village is a way to move forward. To grow past our differences and our limits. I dream that one day al shinobi can cooperate with each other and their hearts merge together in spite of their Clans. Starting a village with Uchiha means that we'll have great defenses and we´ll nurture ourselves by their knowledge." Hashirama ended his explanation speech

Some of the council members were still not very fond of the idea. But after Tobirama's words and glares, they were intelligent enough to remain silent and be polite.

"The truth is that at this moment we're not even fighting for ourselves, we respond to missions to represent a faction, and their enemies recruit or enemies to fight us. If it weren't for those missions we may not even be fighting them, just hating them." Tobirama added. "What my anija intends to create is a noble thing, starting with protecting our children and train them because they are our future." As Hashirama heard this he beamed again looking at his Otouto with surprise and also pride. "Uchiha are against child fighting wars, are we going to be lesser than them? "Please" he snorted "we are better." and with that Hashirama nearly fall to his back sweat dropping heavily. His brother was really harsh and cocky when he wanted to be.

"Please Tobi, this is not a matter of who's better than who" The eldest said with a scolding look "this is a matter of how we want to be remembered: The people that went beyond their beliefs to create something that may be great, or the ones that let an opportunity go because they were to proud." The counselors murmured discussing their Clan's leader words. One could see the embarrassment on some of their faces.

"The Village will be a place where clans will cohabitate peacefully, giving the society the best they have to offer for the greater good. That's all I have to say for now. We still have one day to evaluate our warranties and all" Hashirama stated.

"It's ok Hashirama Sama, most of us are interested in this idea of moving forward, you must know that for a bunch of ancient people like us is difficult to change. Change scares us. But you must not worry, tomorrow we'll set everything and once you have reunited with the Uchiha we'll take a decision" Wata san said to them

"Thank you very much for your patience. We'll speak tomorrow then. Good night" Hashirama greeted bowing to the elders, and turned to leave with Tobirama following him.

"Why do you hate Uchiha so much? In spite the obvious answer of them killing our comrades" Hashirama said as they arrived to their home.

"I… actually don't know. I guess I grew up hating them, father was really clear that they were our enemies and that they killed our siblings. I understand that those losses were the price to pay because of the war and that we killed a lot of Uchiha too, but I just can't see past to it." The younger brother answered honestly.

"You are a good person Tobi, and a great brother, there's more to you than hate. Thank you for your support today." He said putting a hand on his brother shoulder affectively. "Guess we are lucky that the council vas receptive of our Ideas" he added smiling brightly

"Yeah, it was a long day; I need to sleep Anija to order my ideas. You should go to. Tomorrow we'll start the real deal and work about all your new ideas and concepts" Tobirama said tiredly and then shunshined to his room. He was going to follow his anija and help him, but that didn't mean that he liked the way things were going. He got to his bed without even taking off his armor_ 'Maybe my hate of the Uchiha grew when I found out you preferred to speak of your pain with Madara while we shared the same ache and I was your only brother left.'_ He thought out loud as he drifted away, too tired to realize that Hashirama was hearing from outside his room.

* * *

***** AUTHOR'S NOTE *****

**Short Chapter! I had a lot of things to do, and actually I used my time to write down some of the ideas of the future plot instead of finishing this chapter.**

**Thanks AnnaDreyar for thinking the characters' personality was canon. I see them this way:**

**IZUNA: **Clever and loyal to his Clan, but spoiled because he is the younger brother. He is also a very funny person who excels on sarcasm and dark humor.

**MADARA:** Tsunedere, he is cool but has a lot of feelings inside him. He is and also isn't the typical Uchiha: he loves profoundly but he also has second thoughts of all what being an Uchiha is. In the series we get to know a Madara who lost everything, and that was tied by a vow to his Otouto to not ally with Senju. He obviously felt we was betraying his little brother, and felt that he was betrayed by his people who were hypocrites. Plus Zetsu, you had a mad man with god issues and an obsession with his best friend who represents all his pain and also joy. Erase everything since Izuna dying and you have a Young man who loved to fight with his best friend, and still kept in a way that lovely personality he had while he was young (I do feel sorry about him, he's one of my favorite characters – damn he even thought that the moon eye plan will bring peace to the shinobi world, that shows exactly how he truly is)

**HASHIRAMA: **For me he is a mix between Naruto's brightness, optimism and endurance, Konohamaru's innocence and clumsiness, and Kiba's sense of humor. He has been in pain since he was a child, and used his smile as his way to cope. It's a beautiful person with a noble heart, but not perfect.

**TOBIRAMA: **Another tsunedere, but this one is more of a stoic man. He is serious, and thoughtful. He thinks he is better than the others, because he really is, but that is his biggest flaw. He is loyal to his clan and his brother and has a good heart but sometimes his coldness gets on the way and works for his own agenda (another of my fav. Characters, I had in mind a Tobi/Hikari/Takato fic in the future, not harem, it has to do with time travel, but this time Takato is not Uchiha and also not from the past Shhh ;) )

**SAKURA: **she's intelligent and has overcome her weaknesses and surpassed her limits. She is smart, kind, and pure hearted. Also she is hell in person when she's angry. She plays a big role in this story and ironically is who calms Hikari when she loses her temper. (She is my favorite female character, but I felt trolled during all shippuden. She is awesome before war)

As my OCs I hope you like them, I won't say much because you will truly discover them later. I don't want Hikari or Sakura to be Mary Sue, but I do believe on strong female leads. Hikari's powers are part of the Story because she has a mission to complete, but as you've seen, they didn't play any rol on the Canon Story, and I tried to set her in there, forging a bond with the characters that didn't affect the plot much. The Same with Takato, he will not be a Marty Stu. We will learn about his childhood as an Uchiha heir, but there is no big mystery in his upbringing, although there are some interesting things about him. Takato's personality will remain the same in all my fics (If I do write more), no matter what Clan he is, Hikari too.

The biggest part of my story is AU, so I hope you like where we're going.

Read you Soon!


	10. The day before

**Chapter 10: "The day before"**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

Hashirama felt bad about his Otouto. He wasn't stupid, he knew Tobi was in pain like him, but he had believed the man didn't want to bother with emotions. For his aniki emotions were weak spots in the personality, or so he thought. Maybe he had been wrong for a long time.

He couldn't confront him right now because doing that would involve waking Tobirama up and that wasn't going to help in his mood, so he went to his room and tried to sleep.

The next morning Hashirama awoke early but his brother had already left the house. He tried to look after him and realized he was meditating near the river. He thought of going there some time later with food as a peace offer so they could speak properly. They weren't in bad terms, but he wanted Tobi to be ok.

After walking through the camp, lots of clansmen stopped and asked him if the rumors of peace and forming a village were true. He was pleased to discover that almost all of them were happy and some even thrilled of the idea to settle down and finally have peace. The ones that seemed to be against it the only cause of rejection they found was that they hated Uchiha. He explained them what was said on the council room and could reach to an agreement.

He finally reached his destination, Ichigo-kun's home, he knocked and Keito-san received him.

"HASHIRAMA-NIIIII" Ichigo beamed from his bed

"Be respectful of your clan leader, brat!" the old lady scolded her grandson

"It's Ok Keito-san I like him calling me that way" Hashirama smiled truthfully. This little boy remembered him of Kawarama, he had also similar features, black eyes and sand-like hair. But he didn't have the scar, and also his hair was longer tied in a low pony tail.

"Hi, Ichigo kun, how are you feeling today?" the Clan Leader asked.

"I feel fine, a bit sore, but fine. Have you seen the Frog Princess or Taa-kun?" The child asked expectantly

"Stop calling people with that familiarity, you need to be respectful" Keito San said again. Boy, this kid was always on her nerves.

"Taa-kun?" Hashirama asked thoughtfully "Oh, you mean Takato-San! And I believe the Frog princess is Takishima Hikari" The kid nodded "No I haven't, it's too soon. But I will meet them tomorrow"

"Ohh Please tell them I said Hi!" Ichigo pleaded

"Sure kid! I'm happy you're in high spirits. Let me see your wound so I can tell Haruno San how it is" And he then proceeded to check on him. Once he finished he bid his goodbyes to them and went to grab lunch for him and Tobirama.

"What do you want?" the albino asked dryly when he felt his brother approaching.

"Thought you might be hungry. It's noon." Hashirama answered " I wanted to talk to you, I've spoken with mostly all the Clan and they are in good terms with the truce and the idea of a village" he continued as he sat down in the grass next to his brother handing him some fresh sushi.

Tobirama eyed the food and tried to play it cool but his stomach growled so he quickly grabbed it a bit embarrassed and started to eat without saying a word.

"What's going on with you?" The elder brother asked

"What do you mean?" his brother answered with another question.

"I know you Tobi, you're feeling down" Hashirama said preoccupied "I heard you last night in your room"

"I don't know what you're talking about" the albino denied as he continued eating

"You said you hated Uchiha more because I shared my pain with Madara" His brother answered simply, looking somehow guilty

"I-I didn't recall saying anything like that" And he didn't or so he thought. Oh… maybe he had thought it out loud. It was really how he felt almost all the time, but he didn't want to bother his anija with stupid feelings.

Hashirama suddenly changed his posture and seated facing him in seiza bowing in the grass. Tobirama surprised of this action stopped eating and payed full attention to his brother.

"I'm sorry" the elder said. "I always thought you were tough and didn't want to speak about emotions, but it wasn't right. I've been a bad Aniki" he raised his head and looked at his red eyes, which were full of emotion, threating to make him lose his façade.

"You're not a bad Aniki" Tobirama said cooling down. "You are egotistical, but I can't blame you, because your egoistic dream is peace, and that is not even self-interested." His brother still looked at him without speaking, so he continued "I told you yesterday why I hated Uchiha, and there's nothing more at it. Stop speaking like there is some hidden meaning in my words and start making your dream come true, tomorrow is an important day and I bet you haven't even seen the council to establish the terms of the peace and village, and all the warranties we want."

"Oh! That's true! I have to go!" Hashirama said as Tobirama inwardly grinned realizing he had successfully changed the subject.

"Then go, I'll be with you shortly" The Albino said "I want to meditate a bit more fist"

The brunette stood up and smiled at his brother, but this one was different to his bright ones, it was mixed with comfort and understanding. That bastard had realized that he was indirectly kicking him out. "You know you can count on me, don't you?" he asked before leaving. Those words were deeper than they sounded.

"Yes." Tobirama simply answered "Now go, you are annoying me" he added and closed his eyes. He heard Hashirama bursting in genuine laughter, and then his chakra signature left.

'_That was close; I don't want to speak with Hashi about this. It's embarrassing to envy an Uchiha. Damn it!' _He thought, this time not out loud. Of course he remembered. He had said it. Maybe it was the only way he could do it. Without even realizing.

"I can't meditate any longer" he said angrily, got up and headed to the council to help his brother.

Fortunately the arrangements for the next day's meeting were quick, they wanted security that the Uchiha will not betray them –that thought annoyed Hashirama, because he didn't believe they will betray them, but he was kindhearted so it didn't count- also a good place to settle the Clan Compound, Access to a river and equality in the division of resources such as food, wood, and things like that.

When the night came, Hashirama and Tobirama left the council room with a neat scroll with all the things needed to discuss the next morning. They had arranged with Toka-San to meet at 6 am at the camp's doors.

In their home Tobirama headed to his room and stopped in his tracks looking at his brother meaningfully.

"Rest well anija, tomorrow is an important day for all of us." He smirked to him, and Hashirama's face lit up.

"You too Tobi" he answered "We're gonna make it. For Kawarama and for Itama, we'll create peace" and he raised his knuckle shut. Tobirama gasped at the mention of their brothers, they rarely spoke about them.

"We will" was all the albino could say without breaking down. He raised his knuckle too and clashed it with his brother's. Then they went to their rooms and tried their best to rest, but none of them could stop thinking about the loss that lead to this peace. If only it had come sooner…

* * *

It was almost noon when Izuna woke up. He found his siblings seated at the engawa eating some inarizushi and rice balls. His stomach growled.

"HOW COME YOU BOTH DIDN'T GET ME UP TO EAT?" he shouted grabbing Madara's and Takato's food from their hands and stuffing it in his mouth.

"Oh! Good morning sunshine! You're full of joy today, aren't you?" Takato said sarcastically as he took another rice ball and ate it.

"Shut up baka!" he said after swallowing hard and seated between them to keep eating.

Madara Laughed from his spot, he wanted so much that this joy would last. They spent the whole morning with Takato speaking with their Clansmen about the peace and the village. It was hard at first, but they got the help of the ones that were at the front with them, and also Suri's, the pregnant woman that was saved by Hashirama Senju. Finally they reached an agreement, and they gave their ok because they were tired of fighting.

"So, can you tell me more about what happened?" Izuna said, his appetite finally sated. "What is going on with this mysterious Kunoichi?"

"We only know their names and that they were chased by the Hyuuga who had attacked the Merchant Village. We assume they somehow got involved. The rest is what we told you" Takato answered.

"Why were they in the Merchant Village?" the younger asked

"We'll question them about that tomorrow. Kido-san wants to come along to check Takishima-san's sharingan so you'll get to have some answers too." Madara Stated "We've spent all morning talking to our comrades about what may be happening; fortunately things may go smooth because they've agreed even if they still hate the Senju."

"That's good to hear" Izuna said, and blushed when both his brothers looked at him surprised "What? I'm happy we'll get to find peace. There won't be another Suzumi or Saito. Children won't go to war."

Hearing Izuna spoke so freely about their lost brothers was odd. They didn't speak about them because it was a delicate topic for him

"It's hard to be sharing a village with Suzumi's killer, though" he added.

"I try to think that we are all victims of war, I still don't trust him too. But we were kids. Our family killed his siblings too." Takato sighed "I don't know"

Madara stood up and looked at his younger brothers with confidence. "Our siblings will be avenged with peace, no more hatred. If we had had peace earlier they might be here with us now fighting over the food." He smirked "But peace won't be for free. We must cope with a lot of things, and also we will establish some limits. I'm off to the council room to finished the peace terms and ideas for a Village" he continued "Izuna, please spar with Takato so he can check your health, tomorrow we have to be prepared for everything and I need to know you are at your best"

"Hai!" both of them said and smirked too.

Madara left to meet Kido san ant the other elders, whom were waiting him. Luckily they were less reluctant than the night before, and had already begun to work in some ideas. The Uchiha leader was relieved that it only took two hours to complete a scroll with thankfully more ideas than demands. The elders just wanted to make sure that the resources division was fair; that they could build a shrine and have a good spot to construct their compound. Also that their dojutsu would be safe and won´t be used to harm its clan. Its secrets would remain hidden in it. That last part had no point to Madara, because he believed that they comrades needed to know some things about the Sharingan if they were going to defend the Village. That was the only cause of discussion, but it was settled down by Kido-San who took the responsibility to speak on behalf the elders, they could tell the basics and some techniques of the Dojutsu, because the enemies had already seen them in action, but the way to execute jutsu had to remain hidden. Actually not many Uchiha had the Mangekyo so there wasn't a lot of information about it actually, and the ones that had achieved it had different techniques.

In the evening Madara went back home, and found their brothers still sparring. Both had the Mangekyo activated and were at their best in taijutsu. Takato stopped abruptly when he felt his aniki, but Izuna couldn't stop the punch that connected into his brothers jaw.

"BAKA!" Takato said to his little brother spiting blood "You need to practice more your chakra control to learn how to stop on your tracks almost immediately"

"Aw come on, Taka Nii, you stopped because you felt Aniki" Izuna said apologetically "You needed to be concentrated on our fight"

"It was a simple spar and you had to go "almighty Mangekyo" to prove yourself, you didn't even notice anija being here didn't you?" the middle brother scolded and his Otouto lowered his head in shame "You need to become more aware of your surroundings when you fight, and don't act recklessly every time. That almost got us killed yesterday."

Madara looked at them and said to Izuna "He's right, you know? You need to gain more control, what if you are in the middle of a fight and a kid gets in the way, or a loved one? Or what if you're too absorbed on your fight and don't notice someone else being in danger? Yesterday I felt Tobirama's attack intention on you both and I knew I couldn't reach to you because I was fighting Hashirama and knew my speed limits."

"It was fortuitous those kunoichi appeared then" Izuna said still ashamed but his cockiness never faltering.

"Yes it was." The eldest said seriously. "We all need to train harder to overcome our weaknesses, If Haruno San and Takishima San hadn't appeared, right now I will be blaming myself for not being fast enough to save you, so I will train my speed."

Izuna didn't say anything else, and Takato looked happy that he was being scolded.

"And Takato, you may be right in what you said, but stopping abruptly in the middle of a fight without checking your opponent's attack was reckless too." Madara Smirked as he saw his brother blushing a bit with shame and Izuna sneering.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I'll train harder." Takato looked like a scolded child, the youngest rolled his eyes.

"Ok anija, let's clean ourselves up and then grab dinner!" Izuna pushed his middle brother towards the house. "I'm sorry I hit you" he whispered only for him to hear. His brother smiled at that.

The patriarch sighed and smiled a bit looking at them, what he had said was true. He needed to become more powerful to save his siblings. He won't lose any other important person. He suddenly felt a shiver on his nape, and felt like he was being observed, but with his Mangekyo activated scanned the forest and he didn't notice anything. It had been a less than a second. _'Maybe I'm overreacting, I'm just stuck on the 'what if scenario' and being oversensitive'_ the thought. He went inside their house and grabbed something to eat before going to sleep.

* * *

Sakura was looking through the food Madara had given to them so they can have some breakfast. They had overslept, actually Hikari was still sleeping. When she woke up she saw the projection of Hamura near the nest's door. He had told her that his sister's chakra was replenished in the middle of the night, so he appeared to protect them in their sleep, not that they needed, they had placed a lot of protection jutsu and the nest was almost undetectable.

The noise of them speaking and Sakura looking through the scrolls awoke Hikari.

"Hn, you're so noisy" she groaned rubbing her eyes "I'm so tired! How come you have all that energy in the morning?"

"Very funny. It's noon, we overslept!" the pink haired answered. "I believe it's the first time I've slept so heavily" she continued. "Do you want some rice? And there are some jerky beefs and… Oh Kami! DANGO!" she showed the delicious sweet as a price.

Hikari laughed at that and grabbed the rice and the jerky beefs. They were cold, but would do until they could roast some fish.

"So, Hamura-Nii, how come you are here?" Hikari asked while eating.

"As I told you, I'm a chakra projection linked with your chakra. When I sent you backwards in time I sealed a bit of my chakra in you to accompany you"

"Like Minato Nii did with Naruto? You're inside me?" she asked

"I believed Asura's last reincarnation's father did something like that when he sealed Kurama" he nodded

"It's Naruto" Hikari said. Hamura looked at her inquisitively. "It's not Asura's last reincarnation, his name is Naruto."

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry." He apologized "I didn't mean to offend you or him" he added "As I said, I sealed a part of my chakra into you to help your transition in here and with your mission".

"Hikari's mission is to stop Zetsu, right?" Sakura added siting down next to them eating some cold rice.

"Right, it's also your mission too. To help her, she must destroy him though, it's a family thing, no offense" he said

"None taken" Sakura smiled "and how are we going to find Zetsu here?" she asked

"At some point I'm sure he'll get close to Madara as he did with Indra. That's why it's so important to stop the curse of hatred. Zetsu feeds on that." Hamura said "I saw from the moon how that creature lured my nephew and destroyed everything he loved. I couldn't come to help him or my brother because it meant leaving mother's shell unprotected, and when I could reach Hagoromo, it was too late."

"What did Zetsu do?" the pink haired asked.

"First, Zetsu pretended to get Asura killed so Indra awoke his dojutsu. Indra was a sweet child before, and then before he gained his Mangekyo he started to want to be more powerful. He wanted to protect people but he was blinded by that creature. One day, Indra fell in love with a priestess. She was one of his father's comrade's daughter. They married secretly, and our nephew almost forgets all his darkness, but then…" He stopped with a painful look.

"What?" Sakura asked again, her heart beating fast.

"It killed her. Zetsu. She was pregnant at that moment and had just told Indra. He never knew it was him because Zetsu made it look like that she was victim of an attack on their village and was killed defending the children." Hamura sighed, he heard Sakura and Hikari suppressing a sob "The village was destroyed and all the citizens killed. That creature made Indra think that men were not to be trusted because they were greedy and violent, and that they didn't deserve the gift of chakra. He had already awoken his Mangekyo by killing his closest friends though, so he was already corrupted"

"He killed his friends? But wasn't he happy with his family?" Hikari said

"Before the attack on the Village, Zetsu made a first attack that threatened his wife's life. It used this as an excuse to lure him to gain more power. He fell on that because he really wanted to save her. He was fooled by that creature that if he experimented great loss by killing his friends, he will gain more power, and so he did it. His wife was a very clever priestess and realized that his husband's chakra had changed. He told her about this new power he had and though she was amazed by it, she wanted to know how he had gained it. He didn't tell her at first, but then he spoke about everything, the black creature, his friends, how he had gained the sharingan when he was a child. She was stupefied at first, and then started to yell and cry and he tried to sooth her. She made him promise her that he wouldn't hear or be near to this creature anymore, and that's when she revealed the pregnancy."

The silence was hard in the refuge, only interrupted by the sound of the wind on the treetops.

"Indra swore to her and their unborn child that he will cut all ties with the creature. He later confronted it, and Zetsu let him go without saying a word." Hamura finished.

Sakura was crying silently. That story was so cruel. "Indra…" She whispered sobbing softly. Hikari, who was crying too, got up and faced Hamura.

"That's when it killed her and Indra fell into darkness, right?" she asked wiping the tears on her eyes.

"Yes, but it got worse when our brother inherited Asura instead of him" He replied sadly. "I always thought that was unwise. He should have helped Indra in time, but he was too blind teaching everybody Ninshu."

"We need to be near to Madara then" the Takishima said.

"You must live in the Village, you need to be accepted there" Hamura stated

"Then I must offer myself and my medical knowledge as a bargain chip, if it gets difficult" Sakura stood up as she said that. She had regained the composure and had found her resolve.

"Sakura…" Hikari said

"That's not a bad Idea. Your knowledge will be an enormous asset to any village." The Ōtsutsuki replied.

"What else do we need to do?" the pink haired asked.

"At some point you'll need to reveal where you come from. You must be truthful with them, so they make conscious decisions" He said, and both kunoichi looked surprised "but we'll get to that when time comes".

Time had passed really fast and it was now the afternoon. The kunoichi left the shelter for a bit to explore, Hamura stayed in the nest without a problem because Hikari had left a Kunai with her chakra embedded on it. They went to the river to refill their canteens and fished something to eat for dinner. Once they were back on the nest Hikari roasted the fish using a controlled small Katon. While Sakura prepared a pot of hot rice.

"I wish I was able to eat" Hamura said looking at them while they ate. Both girls laughed.

"Hamura nii I have another question for you" the Takishima said. "What's that about interdimensional chakra?"

"Oh, yes, I haven't told you about that, have I?" he said "Interdimensional chakra is a type of nature chakra that allows people to travel through dimensions, like mother did, or like Sennin do."

"That's the chakra the Old toad uses?" Hikari asked

"Yes, He teleports using that. It's the same that I used to travel, and it leaves a trail on the subjects while they jump. On people which are not users of it like you two, it takes cost and consumes their actual chakra." Hamura explained. "It will last some days I believe, maybe even a week. But you'll be fine" he smiled.

"Very well, so we must stop Zetsu and the Curse. And also live in the possible Konoha to stay close if that hideous creature attacks… what do we expect from tomorrow?" Hikari asked

"It will probably be a lot of discussion and we'll may need to be mediators. They'll want to know our story too" Sakura Said.

"We're Clanless, our village doesn't exist right now, and we were just passing by in the Merchants Village?" the brunette told them

"That will do for now" Hamura advised "try to be ambiguous about the village, so they won't ask many questions. If they get too annoying, bring them back to the Peace Settling."

The girls nodded as they ate their dango for desert.

"We need to sleep now, tomorrow is going to be a long day it seems" Hikari said, and then added "You'll stay and watch Hamura-nii?"

The mentioned smiled warmly to his sister "Yes Imouto, I will keep an eye for you both. Rest well."

Sakura greeted the Ōtsutsuki too, and went to sleep.

When both girls were asleep he scanned the area. He hid his chakra signature and Kokoro's one on her seal. He had made her clear not to use that chakra here only if needed._ 'I know you are here Zetsu, I can feel you stalking Madara. You can't feel me or my imouto though and you won't see us coming' _He thought.

***** AUTHORS NOTE*****

**More than 1k views! Thank you very much, and thanks for the Faves and Follows!**

**Hamura became Liam Neeson in my head as I wrote that last line. It took me some minutes to realized it was like Taken's one. As I said English is not my first language, I've watched Taken in Spanish but it still rang a bell. I believe i heard Liam saying that line on a tv show in English =')**

**I'll leave it as a small reference so Cap. America can understand it LOL. **


	11. Moving forward

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

'_I'm Sorry'_ a sad male voice whispered.

She opened her eyes to see nothing but the pitch black void. But she could see herself; she raised her hands and could see them, pale, glowing.

'_I-I'm Sorry, I-I couldn't make it' _the male voice broke in pain.

She got up and look around: "Hello?, who are you?"

'_I-It's Ok Anata, I l-love you'_ now a female pained voice answered.

The voices came from everywhere, like they were surrounding her. She started to walk in the void, there had to be a floor, because she wasn't floating, but she couldn't see walls, joints or anything.

Suddenly, a Mirror appeared from nowhere and her reflection looked at her. It was her, but it wasn't.

Her reflection was wearing a white cloak with black magatamas, her hair was longer and darker if possible, tied in a loose pony tail over one shoulder. Her face was almost the same, only she had two small horns like rabbit ears growing from her forehead between her hairs. Her eyes had unique irises; it had all the colors you could imagine, like a galaxy. Actually they moved inside her eyes like one, and the pupil was pitch black, with toad shape.

Her reflection raised a hand and touched the glass, so she raised her hand mirroring her movement. When they touched the woman on the other side smiled sadly at her.

'_Kokoro'_ the male voice again _'Hikari'_ a foreign voice echoed the other name

The reflection moved away from the glass

'_Kokoro'_ sounded again from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. _'Hikari'_ the echo sounded again.

"WAIT" Hikari started to punch the glass "WAIT, COME BACK" she shouted as the reflection turned back to look at her. Their eyes locked.

'_Kokoro'_ suddenly a pair of grey eyes full of rings surrounding the pupil appeared behind the reflection, and she was pierced by something through her stomach.

"HIKARI" and somebody grabbed her from her shoulder.

* * *

"AAAAAAAGHHHH" the Takishima screamed in pain grabbing her abdomen.

"Hikari, please you were having a nightmare" desperate Sakura tried to soothe her down.

"Imouto, breath deep and try to calm down" Hamura said. "Nii San" She suddenly hugged him, which was odd because he had no body, but then again she could do it. Her Senjutsu had activated without her even realizing, and it fade out as she panted to calm down.

"I-I'm Ok, I just…" sobbing softly, she moved a back to look at Hamura without breaking the embrace. He was surprised by the recent action, and she let him go. "I just had a weird dream, that's all"

"You almost release your chakra without knowing" he said

"Maybe it was because you were working with her seal" Sakura added thinking, and then she remembered "They are here! I was going to wake you up and with all this I forgot about them! They must be waiting" she got nervous and blushed in embarrassment.

"Please, go and greet them, I'll be down in a minute" Hikari said, trying hard to smile.

Sakura nodded, and jumped off the nest landing gracefully in front of their guest.

"Is it everything ok? We heard a scream, but felt no threat" Hashirama asked concerned

"Yes I'm sorry, Hikari had a nightmare. But she's up already" the pinkette answered "we didn't know what time it was, and overslept".

"It's ok, I presume you were tired" The eldest Senju commented "I believe we are early, we didn't actually set a time schedule, did we?" he laughed

Sakura felt her nervousness fade a little.

"That's true, but it doesn't justify oversleeping" she half smiled still embarrassed.

"HAHAHA please, don't worry so much! This is such a beautiful day to be tarnished with worries" Hashirama said carelessly still laughing. Tobirama rolled his eyes; this was obviously going to be a day full of concern and discussion. Sakura seemed to get what he was thinking, because she chuckled at him. Hashirama was too much Naruto-alike.

"Did the nest worked well?" The eldest Senju added kindly

Meanwhile, Hikari spoked to Hamura as she arrange herself a little.

"Can you conceal yourself?" She asked

"Don't worry I already have, also your chakra is safe. Only Sakura and you can see me now, they won't yet." The Ōtsutsuki answered confident. "What did you dream about?"

"I think I saw how Kokoro died…" Hikari answered.

Hamura looked pained "That's why you grabbed your abdomen…" he said absentmindly.

"And I saw a pair of grey eyes, with rings. Like Hagoromo's, like the Rinnegan" she added.

The Ōtsutsuki looked surprised and then his expression changed to one of deep thinking.

"Why those eyes?" the Takishima asked seeing that he wasn't speaking.

Hamura looked at her, took a deep breath and spoke "I don't know yet. I have a theory, but then again I cannot tell you yet either."

"You're full of mystery brother." Hikari looked at him plainly.

"I like to keep things interesting" he mocked and waving his hands in front of her he added "Now go and greet them, today is an important day" he winked.

Hikari nodded, Hamura could be so weird sometimes! Then she jumped at the exact moment to answer Hashirama's last question.

"The nest is very cozy, thank you" She said as she bowed to their guest. "Sorry for the bother, I had a bad dream, but that's all" she added smiling at their worried faces.

"I believe we're more people than the last time" Sakura said a bit confused, she was calmer now so she could point that fact out.

"Hai, Hai!" Hashirama said, "We never properly introduce ourselves, I'm Hashirama Senju, as you know, and this is my beloved brother Tobirama" the mentioned sweat dropped, they already know their names for Kami's sake! "And this kunoichi next to him is our trusted friend Toka Senju, she was sent by our council to this meeting"

"It's nice to meet you appropriately" Toka bowed at them "I watched you two in our battlefield two days ago and wanted to greet you, you did quite a display fighting and healing" She smirked.

"HASHIRAMA" the unmistakable voice of Madara Uchiha echoed in the forest "It's no good to show up earlier to an appointment of this sort, one could believe you have an ulterior motive"

"Oh, come on Madara, you now I wouldn't do that to you! We've just arrived" the Senju whined as raised his arms defending himself. His brother rolled his eyes, sometimes his anija could be like a child. Toka and the girls just laughed.

"Good morning gentlemen" Sakura greeted the Uchiha. "Please don't pick a fight this early in the morning, it's going to be a long day and we still have not eaten breakfast" her smile hid her temper, as her lips twitched on one corner.

"She has a temper" Kido San whispered to Takato who smiled in response

"We're sorry Haruno-san, Takishima-San" Madara bowed respectfully "You remember my brother Takato, and may I proper introduce to you to our younger sibling Uchiha Izuna". The mentioned looked at them a bit suspiciously, but then bowed and took a few steps in Sakura's direction.

"Thank you for saving my life" He bowed to her. "I hope you can understand this is a bit confuse to my, and I don't know you, so please don't be offended if I can't trust you yet." He was sincere but tough, just like Sasuke at the gates of Konoha. Hell, he even looked like a clone of him.

"It's nice to meet you too, Uchiha-san" Sakura replied smiling a bit nervous

"Don't worry, we take no offence in that" Hikari added "I believe you don't expect us to fully trust you either" Takato and Madara frowned at this but then she said "although you brothers had made enough to prove them trustworthy" and smiled looking at them. They felt a bit relieved.

Madara nodded and finished the introductions: "This is Kido Uchiha, one of the elders of our Clan and also the Head of our Council" the mentioned bowed to the girls, who did the same.

"I'm glad to finally meet you in person" Kido-san said "The boys and our warriors spoke highly about your skills." he smiled kindly.

Both girls blushed a little because of the praise.

"I believe it's time to get hands to work!" Hashirama said clapping his hands cheerfully, everybody present sweat dropped softly.

"Where do you want to set the meeting?" Hikari asked. She saw the man looking up and she objected "the refuge is too small; we're nine people in here!"

But that was not an argument to Hashirama Senju. He released his jutsu and the branches started move again like the first time. The nest gained size and looked like three of them merged together. This time everybody sweat dropped hard, and Kido-san started to laugh hard.

"You sure know how to make a point, Hashirama San!" the elder said. Hashirama smiled cheerfully and put a hand behind his head scratching it.

"We should jump in" He answered kindly.

They all jumped and Sakura was surprised to see that Hamura was still there but nobody could see him. She looked at her friend and she nodded, answering her unspoken question. Hamura smiled at both and went outside the edification to keep watch.

Madara and Hashirama placed a lot of protection jutsu and made the nest undetectable. The latter used the mokuton and created a kotatsu in the middle of the room. At this time nobody was surprised by his actions, so the girls grabbed the cots naturally and put them around the table. The Senju sat on one side, the Uchiha on the opposite one. The girls sat facing each other on each free side in between them. Once it was all settled and the laughs were gone they looked a bit tense.

"Umm…" Sakura broke the ice "Where would you like to start? I believe you have two important issues on your agenda, the peace treaty and the formation of a Village, am I right?"

"Yes you are Haruno-san" Hashirama said, he was the only one that wasn't tense. "I propose to start with the easy part, the peace treaty." He looked through some scrolls and added "I brought a draft" and he started to read

'We celebrate here a peace treaty within the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan. Both parts agree on stop fighting and ally on times in need. We understand that the only parts benefited with our fighting are our clients, whom use us. We lose shinobi and resources and they do nothing, allying we gain more. The warranties for this treaty stand in not accepting works that go against each other, shall one of the parties break this agreement, the peace shall be considered broken.'

There was a small silence in the room as everybody worked in their minds what was read.

Kido-san looked at his Clan Leader and nodded, "I believe this is everything we are also looking forward, Madara-sama" he spoke.

"Hai, Kido-san" Madara said "Takato, Izuna, what do you think?" he asked his siblings.

"I think it covers the basics. Of course this is only the peace agreement, and as a first step to an alliance seems right." Takato spoke. Izuna was still quiet and frowning in deep thought. Madara was a bit concerned about what his reaction would be. His Otouto was the one that hated Senju the most, but he hoped he would see past his hate.

"Hn" he finally said "It's fine" he added and looked like he was doing a great effort to not to say anymore.

"Speak your mind fully, Uchiha" Tobirama spoke for the first time. "We need to have all the cards on the table if we truly want peace". Hashirama looked at his brother worriedly; it wasn't good to provoke the younger Uchiha.

"Tobi…" his brother started.

"I can't stand being in the same room with you as if nothing happened. I hate you, and it's clear you hate me. You almost kill my brother and me mercilessly two days ago, while we were already down." Izuna raised his voice "You were about to do something dishonorable, and don't let me start on what you did when…"

"IZUNA" Madara intervened looking at his brother with a warning look.

"It's true, I hate you." Tobirama stated calmly. "But don't talk about dishonor, when if we had switched places you would have done the same thing. Don't be such an hypocrite" he added with a look of superiority.

"YOU…" Izuna had his sharingan activated and threaten to stand up and the albino mimicked him.

'_CRACK!'_ the table collapsed under them with a loud noise and both fell backwards because they lost balance. Suddenly a dark aura was all around the pink haired kunoichi, who had her fist clenched over the broken kotatsu.

"Gentlemen" She said with a dark voice. Hikari looked at her amused and also a bit scared, sometimes she could be like her aunt Kushina, his uncle was right. "We ALL KNOW you hate each other. There's no need to keep saying that. It's BORING." Izuna and Tobirama were looking at her like she was an enemy in common. "IF you don't have anything more interesting to say or contribute to this meeting, I shall ask you to leave our place. I don't care if you are the strongest men of your clan, I will beat the hell out of you from here." Now they both look outraged. "Your elder siblings are trying hard to create a future to your clans, and you only look to the past. I know it's recent" she added more calmed "But sometimes peace has to overcome fresh wounds for a greater good."

Hashirama looked at her in awe, and Madara had a proud look on her face. Takato and Kido San smiled to each other. Toka just smirked, she liked this girl, she had nerve.

"I'd like to see you try to beat us" Tobirama spat.

"He's right, I'd like to see that to" Izuna agreed.

"If she wanted she could kill you both immediately with her medic jutsu" Hikari said simply but spiked her chakra to diverge the attention. Everybody looked at her in disbelief. "Come on, I thought you were smarter" she added noticing their expressions and not leaving her eyes from Tobirama and Izuna. "She knows how to take an organ out and can cut you sharper than a Katana with her chakra scalpels" the Takishima smirked and then continued "she can also stop your hearts infusing an exact amount of chakra to your bodies, so don't you dare to mess with a medic nin, especially if that is Sakura Haruno" both men paled. Sakura blushed a little but her expression was still determined.

"Also," the brunette said "she is not alone; of course I'd be delighted to help her. You don't know what I'm capable to do, and I am not scared to face you" and then she remembered something and started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Tobirama asked with disgust.

Hikari wiped a tear from her eye and said "She made you both agree in something!"

The man almost fell backwards, the rest suppressed a smile but Izuna was enraged.

"I may not know you, but I happen to know that you suspiciously possess our Clan's dojutsu, and also use senjutsu" the youngest Uchiha spat at her "I bet you are just an impostor that took some of our clansmen eyes and plan to..."

"IZUNA" this time both Madara and Takato intervened, the first having risen his voice considerably.

"The issue of the Sharingan will be discussed later" the Clan Leader said. "I apologize for my otouto's outburst Takishima-san" he added "but your eyes are one of the reasons of why Kido-San is here" he looked at the elder inviting him to speak.

"He's right Takishima-san. I would like to ask you some questions and check your dojutsu later if you don't mind" the man tried to sound as polite as he could; he knew this was a delicate matter.

"I believe it's a bit rude to ask that because we are strangers…" she answered with anger in her voice "but then again I'm accustomed to be belittled by the Uchiha because of my eyes" Hikari added looking hatefully at Izuna, that Uchiha brat was an asshole. Sakura lowered her head remembering her friend's past and how Sasuke sometimes called her 'traitor' or 'thief' when he was angry. Takato and Madara didn't miss her look, and also that she had had contact with Uchiha before, they looked at each other and new almost telepathically that they will discuss this later. When the silence became unbearable she continued more calm "Nonetheless I believe your concern is valid, so I shall give you permission" Kido-san bowed rapidly in response. "Just one thing, you must know that if I sense any threat I will defend myself" she said as polite as she could, but still showed her bad temper.

"I wouldn't expect less from a fine Kunoichi like you" the elder said gallantly. "We'll discuss about this later, I'm truly sorry for upsetting you"

"Very well then" the Takishima answered feeling a little awkward by his words. "Senju-San, please can you fix the kotatsu you made? We're sorry about this scene. Please feel free to continue."

"Yes, I'm sorry I was reckless. We will not interfere anymore" Sakura added lowing her head a little to hide her embarrassed face. She failed miserably, because she heard Hashirama and Toka chuckle.

Madara thought she looked cute, and immediately suppressed this thought. How could he think that!? He was a warrior, a Clan Leader for Kami's sake! He was in the making of his beloved peace, his dream of a lifetime. He shouldn't be thinking that a woman was cute.

"Hn" he cleared his throat. "If everybody is ok with this treaty, Hashirama and I will sign it" he spoke "And everybody present in this room too. Haruno-San, Takishima-San, will you sign as witnesses? You don't belong to any clan, so it makes this more legit too."

Both girls nodded. No one had an objection about signing, and Tobirama and Izuna had to obey their respective Clan Leaders and brothers. They wouldn't admit it, but Haruno's words have touched a sensitive fiber on them. Both understood what she had said, but they had become accustomed to hate.

"Peace Settled!" Hashirama said cheerfully "Now comes the hard part, the Village!"

Everybody looked like they thought of the same thing. If the peace was so troublesome but also the easy part, they were afraid of the hard one.

"I've never formed a Village before, neither resided in one. How do we start?" The Senju said carefree.

"It's your idea and you don't even know how to carry it out!?" Madara almost face palmed. "You are truly an idiot, you know?"

"Leaving aside the fact that my brother is indeed an idiot" Tobirama said as if he was talking about the weather "If you say that I presume that you know what to do, because this is your idea to. Am I right?" Madara deadpanned, he hadn't lived in a Village either. "I thought so" the albino snorted.

"How difficult could it be?" the Uchiha fought the Senju. Izuna rolled his eyes.

"If you excuse me," Toka finally spoke "I'd like to address to my fellow kunoichi here" the girls looked at her curious. In fact, everybody did the same thing.

"Where are you from?" The Senju asked "I mean, we actually only know that they were passing by the Merchants village, so they don't live there" she added looking at the males' confused expression. "Do you come from a Village? Maybe you can help with this issue"

Hikari and Sakura were silent. They saw Hamura entering the room giving a sing that everything was ok. Takato flinched, he felt a sudden shiver like there was someone else in the room, but he looked to were Hamura was and didn't see anything. The projection went outside again smirking.

"We don't have a Village now" Sakura said.

"You don't have a Village?" Toka asked confused "What about clans? We sure don't know your last names"

"Toka-san, I don't see what the point of all this questioning is…" Hashirama started.

"It´s ok, Senju-sama, we are indeed strangers. We'll answer what we can." The pink haired interrupted. "I don't have a Clan. I'm the daughter of civilians; I was not even born in a shinobi household. But I was given the opportunity to became shinobi." She continued. Everybody was amazed by her words. A civilian girl with this advance shinobi training? And without even a kekkei genkai!

"I don't have a Clan either" Hikari spoke and everybody looked at her.

"How can it be possible, your eyes…" Kido san started.

"I told you she stole them!" Izuna interrupted spilling hatred in his words "you filthy little thief, she's a traitor" he added but shut up immediately when he saw her dojutsu activated, and her face contorted full of anger.

"I inherited my dojutsu from my mother. I didn't know my grandparents. My parents left me when I was four years old, and that same night my entire clan was murdered." Hashirama suppressed gasp from the impression. Madara felt a pang on his chest and so did Kido, Toka and Takato. She had tears in her eyes, but the Middle Uchiha sibling and Tobirama could sense that they weren't for sadness. Maybe a little, but she was angry, very angry, and upset. "I am the only Takishima left, so that's WHY I don't have a clan. And I won't explain myself any longer. But if you don't trust me, you can see my memories through a Tsukuyomi" Her voice betrayed her emotion and almost cracked, she pierced the youngest Uchiha with her intense gaze. To say that Izuna was a little ashamed was a lie. He felt like he was the stupidest person in the world for misjudging her.

"We don't have a Village, but we used to live in one. That's all you need to know for now." Sakura said, leaving room for her friend to calm down.

"For now?" Tobirama said suspiciously. He really felt sorry for the Takishima girl. He knew she wasn't lying. There was missing information, but what she had said was true.

"We'll tell you more when we trust each other" Sakura said solemnly "I know you can understand that".

There was no teasing in her voice, not a single double meaning. Tobirama nodded, acknowledging the girl. They seem not actual threat right now.

"You can see my sharingan now Kido San. It's already activated anyway" Hikari said calmer but still sounding affected.

The mentioned moved closer to her and activated his Sharingan, and then turned it to the Mangekyo. The other Uchiha in the room looked surprised.

"I've awoken my Mangekyo when my son passed away a month ago" the elder explained the unspoken questions without leaving his eyes from hers. "I know… I'm old and it isn't of use now." He said as if thinking out loud. "I'll ask you some questions while I look at your dojutsu, is it ok?" The girl nodded, suddenly feeling empathy for this man in front of her. He took her hands in his, and she felt it comforting and oddly familiar.

"How old were you when you awoke your Sharingan?" he asked, predicting what her answer would be.

"Four" she said, never leaving his eyes. The other people in the room listened carefully, the Uchiha opened their eyes widely at this information, she had been a little girl! Sakura looked at her friend with a worried face.

"Have you awoken the Mangekyo?" Kido continued delicately. The girl nodded.

"Can you show it to me?" he asked kindly. Her eyes filled with tears again as her sharingan whirled fast and morphed into a trisquel with three smaller tomoes in between its curves.

"Beautiful…" He whispered "a pure heart indeed to show such a nice pattern" he added as an afterthought "How old were you?"

"Nineteen" the tears menaced to fall. Sakura was already crying. Madara looked at her and realized that she knew how she had got it.

"May I ask why?" the man asked softly

"M-My godfather…" she started "H-He was like a father to me, he trained me…" but she couldn't continue. Everybody in the room understood the rest. Kido-san felt her flinch under his touch so he held her hands tighter.

"It's ok, Kid" He simply said. Hikari's eyes opened widely and the tears fell free as she moved away her hands from Kido's grasp.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" the elder said. Takato looked at her worriedly and then to his brother who was looking from her to the crying pink haired girl. The rest remained in silence.

"No, i-its fine, it's just…" the girl said trying to wipe her tears but they kept falling "He always called me Kid, even if I was nineteen." She smiled sadly "A-and t-those were his last words, the last he told me I mean, the last time we saw each other." Kido looked at her sadly but curious, so she continued. "I was worried because he was always on dangerous missions, and that last one was absurdly risky. I told him to be safe, he answered 'It's ok, Kid' as he walked away of the village." By the end of her tale se looked calmer.

"Either way, I'm sorry to bring you back those sad memories" The elder told her "Our eyes are cursed by our pain" he put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine, really. I was upset about everything and overreacted. This… maybe was too much for me, for both of us" she said the last looking at Sakura who had stopped crying but had her eyes and nose red.

"True, the attack of the Hyuuga, the battlefield, and everything remembered us the war and our losses" Sakura said "We've lost a lot too you know? More than you can imagine". Madara looked at her and felt the urge to comfort her, but didn't act on his instinct. The feeling felt foreign to him, but at the same time natural. He thought that with all this issues they were stirring a lot of emotion and that's why everybody felt so sentimental.

"War?" Toka asked

"Please don't ask right now" Sakura managed to say.

"Haruno San" Madara called her and she looked at him in his eyes –always sharingan during the meeting- "Once you both feel ready and trust us, please feel free to tell us. We're not your enemies" He said.

"That's right! We need to know about our allies and villagers, don't we?" Hashirama said

"Villagers?" Hikari asked

"Of course! You'll be staying in our village, won't you?" he asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Everybody smiled at his attempt to clear up the mood. Even Tobirama chuckled. "You can even join a Clan!" he thought that was a wonderful idea.

"Hn, thank you for your offer. We'll think about it" Hikari said and the Senju pouted "we can't answer you right know, we don't know what we are going to do in the near future." She added, of course they will live at the future Konoha, they had nowhere to go. However they needed to be sure that it had to be created first. "But first you have to create that village. Please do start" she added

"But as you have seen none of us has a Clue" Toka said simply

"Just ask Sakura. She knows stuff" the Takishima smiled sincerely, all the notorious sings of her pain were gone by now, but she still was a bit sore on if you scratched her exterior. The rest looked at the pink haired for an answer and she blushed a little with all the attention.

"Umm… to create a Village you need to have a land to build the structure first" she started a bit insecure "it's like when you set a camp, and you need to have houses and special buildings, like a hospital, a school, a blacksmith, a market, etc. Also you need to build a perimeter that surrounds the Village to protect it. You need a way to gather the resources to maintain it and that could be done by commerce and by the mission system you already got but more organized."

Hashirama was an eager listener and he nodded almost every five seconds at her words taking mental notes. Madara thought that what she said was kind if obvious, but then again he hadn't thought about those simple things, so everything she said was new to him too. Tobirama looked like he had the wheels on his mind already working on a lot of stuff. You could see the ideas floating in his eyes. The other Uchiha brothers were quiet but perceptive. Kido and Toka nodded at her words, but not as many times as Hashirama, though.

"… You need three systems, political, economic and health, and the three of them need to work together fine. With politics, you'll make external bonds, like alliances with other Clans, and Villages, and internal ones such as unity in between your people. It also includes decisions that will be the ones that settle the bases of the Village itself like creating places to train children, and a mission system, etc. With economics, led by political decisions, you'll get and manage the funds to keep the Village running and make it grow. It also will lead to external and internal commerce, and inside business creation. And Health system will have to be at the base of the pyramid too, with it you'll keep your people safe and sound. At times like this, a strong health system can be a tempting way to gather more clans to join"

"Good point" Madara said "but it seems too much to handle. How do you expect such a thing to keep working?" he asked looking at Hashirama. Before he could answer, Hikari interrupted.

"By choosing a leader" she said "it's the same as in clans, but in a bigger scale. The village has to have a Leader chosen by its people, and that leader will need to have a council that helps him making decisions and stuff."

"You both sure know a lot" Toka said.

"I was trained by our village leader" Sakura said "so I learnt a lot of stuff"

"And I worked under her orders too" Hikari added.

"Her?" Takato asked curious

"Um, yes the leader was a woman, one of the finest kunoichi you'd ever known" she grinned to the Uchiha. He smiled to her grin; it felt nice to see her in a better mood.

"I don't know many Kunoichi, but if she is like you both, she must be an amazing shinobi" he said to her still smiling. She blushed a little at that, it was a heartwarming and sincere compliment, and it seemed he had no even realize it could be understood that way.

With all the information the kunoichi gave to them they started working until long past noon. They stopped to eat something and kept working. By the evening they have everything almost planned. Hashirama and Madara revealed they had a place in mind with natural defenses, and they'll have to speak with the Daimyo, and once everything is settled they could start working with their mokuton to build everything. Both clans have settled their warranties and they didn't have a problem with each other's requirements.

"The issue is the health system" Takato said, "We don't have many resources, or even procedures to sustain a strong one."

After a moment of thought, Sakura looked at Hikari and remembered what they had spoken with Hamura.

"I'll be in charge of that if you don't mind" she said timidly "what I mean is, I can help you form a health system and a Hospital so you can put someone suitable to manage it" she added immediately, she didn't want to sound conceited.

Hashirama beamed, and Madara looked surprised behind his façade –and pleased inside-.

"So you'll be a part of our Village?" the Senju asked hopefully

"Yes," Hikari answered "although we prefer to stay Clanless for the time being if you don't mind."

"That's wonderful! Has anyone got an objection to that?" he asked looking everybody but spent more time watching his brother. Tobirama grunted and nodded in response. He was starting to trust if only a little this girls, they seemed worthy allies, and also he could keep an eye on them if he had them close enough.

"I have one" Izuna said out loud. All of them looked at him worriedly, expecting another outburst like earlier. Hikari gazed at him like he was the most annoying person in the world; she could also be a brat sometimes.

"I can't understand how you can accept this when we were so rude to you." He said simply, lowering his eyes a bit ashamed. Hikari's expression dropped and felt sympathetic with him for the first time.

"Because we will see past that if it means to help create something wonderful" she answered. "Rudeness is common on Shinobi world. You were being hateful, but it's understanding since that's the world in which you were raised." He opened his eyes a bit wider and looked at her. "Although that doesn't oblige you to be a bastard" she smirked, and so did he. He would not say that he was sorry, and she was accepting that. A small bond was born at that moment between the youngest Uchiha and the Takishima. Hikari felt like she felt Shisui back at her side messing with her.

"We will form part of your Village, and we will protect your dreams of peace" Sakura said "we will protect the children too; they are the future of our world. Senju-sama, Uchiha-sama, you both remember me a dear friend of mine. You have the will of fire, and will extend it to others."

"Will of fire?" Hashirama said looking at his Uchiha friend, who looked amused.

"Uchiha fitting, I like that" Madara said.

From the treetops Hamura smiled. They still had hope.

* * *

***** AUTHORS NOTE *****

**It took me forever but it's done! Hope you like this story. I'd like to think Izuna is the "Otouto" we all wanted to have and beat the hell out. He's lovely and a brat haha**

**Thanks for the Favs and Follows, and for the reviews!**

**Read you soon!**

**BellaHikari**


	12. The birth of a theory

**Disclaimer: "I solemnly swear that I do not own Naruto"**

**Please, forgive any misspellings and stuff. I just needed to update, I'll check everything later, promise =)**

* * *

It was already dark outside when they finished the meeting. Madara and Hashirama said that they were going to meet the Daimyo to agree on the place to start building the Village. Tobirama and Takato will accompany them, leaving Izuna and Toka to report to their respective Councils.

"What are you going to do?" the Senju Kunoichi asked Hikari and Sakura.

"Tomorrow we'll gather some supplies and we're going to sneak up the Merchant Village to check how things are going" Hikari said "If there is no threat and no Hyuuga around; we'll go the next day there."

"How so?" the brunette said.

"There must still be injured people" Sakura was the one to answer now "We'd like to know if we can be of any help. And also maybe we can get small jobs to have some earnings to buy some clothes, food, and weapons".

"If you need anything you can ask me" Toka said.

"You're very kind, but we need a place to stay until the Village is done, and that's the most neutral one" Hikari said "Maybe we'll stay in an inn for the time being"

Hashirama pouted when he heard that.

"Please, tell me you are not expecting for them to keep living in this nest" Izuna said looking at the Senju as if he was mental. The man looked at him and his expression betrayed him, "Kami, you really are dull" the youngest Uchiha Sweatdropped. Madara rolled his eyes and all of them were shocked when they heard Tobirama snorting. Izuna looked at him surprised and the Senju returned to his stoic façade.

"What?" he asked.

"I never thought you could have sense of humor" the Uchiha stated simply. The outraged expression Tobirama had made everybody burst in laughter.

"We better be going if we want to meet the Daimyo early tomorrow" the albino said as he cleared his voice a bit embarrased.

"You're right, tomorrow we'll be at your camp's entrance at dawn, so we can go to his home" Madara said "If we get there early we'll be probably done by noon."

"Maybe when we are done, we could go as representatives to your Village with a white flag to pay respects to the council and formalize our part of agreement" Takato intervened.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Hashirama said. Madara looked at his brother proudly, he really had grown up fine in spite of all their father's mistreatment. "Tobi, we should do that too once the meeting with the council is finished." Tobirama nodded seriously, it was honorable from the Uchiha to pay respects to his Clan, and he won't deny that – nor he won't be less than them.

"We will be expecting you then" Kido-san said and bowed.

"Okay everybody, we should be leaving and let the ladies rest." Izuna said cheerfully. '_He really resembles Shisui'_, Hikari thought.

"We'll keep in touch" Sakura said. "If you don't find us here, we'll be at the village."

"Our falcons will find you, don't worry" Madara said confidently.

"_OMG HE'S SO COOL" _a voice in Sakura's mind said –"_wait what?"_ Sakura answered the voice. _"OH I'M INNER, DON'T YOU REMEMBER ME? YOU STOPPED LISTENING TO ME WHEN YOU STARTED TRAINING WITH SHISHOU". "Hn, I thought you were dead", "COME ON, YOU COULDN'T LEAVE WITHOUT ME, I'M VISIBLE IN EVERY SHANNARO YOU SAY". "Just shut up, I'm busy now.", "OK, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT SEXY UCHIHA MADARA LATER, CHAAA!". _That conversation took only 2 or 3 seconds, but she felt like it was an eternity. The Uchiha looked at her and she blushed from the embarrassment, she might be looking like an Idiot!

"How come they can find us?" Hikari asked interrupting the scene, she thought Sakura was acting odd and would ask later about that.

"Hn, we know your Chakra signature, so we reproduce it to them and they'll found it." The patriarch explained.

"Wow, that's awesome. I'd love to meet those falcons some time" Hikari looked like a kid on Hanami. Madara chuckled at her and she suddenly felt aware. "I-I'm sorry I got all worked up" she said a bit shyly and out of character "It's just I have this bond with nature and beast thanks to the senjutsu…"

"AW! We're so alike!" Hashirama said clapping hands. She sweat-dropped. Did she just looked like Hashirama? She suddenly blushed feeling like an idiot.

"Poor girl if she's like you" Madara grunted crossing his arms in his chest. The Senju leader got instantly depressed.

"Come on Anija" Takato intervened "let's not start another war with that" he saw Madara chuckling and then he spoke to Hikari "Once the Village is done, we can introduce you to our falcons, don't worry"

That didn't help the Takishima's blush because she felt like she was being treating like a child, so she only nodded a bit displeased and said a small "Thank You". Takato sort of realized that, he thought she was cute.

"Hey, you're not like Hashirama, don't get mad" He said to her.

She looked at him and noticed that he was not meaning wrong, he was only trying to make her feel better. When she heard Hashirama saying "HEY!" she started to laugh and felt lighter.

"You're all so mean to Senju-san" Sakura said putting her hands on her hips. Madara looked at her carefully.

"Thank you Haruno San, you're the best" the mentioned said with tears on his eyes. She sweat-dropped.

"Man-up" she said "If you're always like this everybody will make fun of you" she remembered her days of being bullied as a child. She learnt that although you can't help bullies being bullies, you are the one that allow some things to hurt you or not.

"That's what I say to him always, but he doesn't listen" Madara said.

"But you also are the one that bullies him the most" She said looking at him scornfully

Madara felt bad about what she said – or maybe the way she said it- and blushed a little

"No I'm not" he defended himself "Tobirama is the one that bullies him the most" he said pointing at the albino. It was odd, it was like he was being fourteen again and fighting like kids with Hashirama. Somehow he felt lighter.

"You're all so childish" Tobirama said bored. "I can't believe we're all forming a Village together. I'm so stuck with you"

"Yes! You must feel honored" Izuna said smiling deviously. Tobirama sighed.

"Anija, Toka, let's go" he said "Good evening" he greeted and then turned away and jumped into the trees.

"Tobi-kun is so tactless" Toka said "don't mind him, good evening to everybody" she bowed and followed the albino into the trees.

"Arigato for today" Hashirama bowed. When he was about to leave he looked at them and smiled brightly "We'll make a better world together, believe it" Hikari and Sakura opened their eyes wide, it felt like they were looking at Naruto. "Good evening!" and he jumped into the trees.

"We shall be leaving too" Kido-san, who had been quiet watching al the interchange from the distance, said. "Good evening ladies" he bowed.

"See ya'!" Izuna said nonchalantly.

"Until next time" Takato added respectful, rolling his eyes at his younger brother's attitude.

"Thank you for everything" Madara said with his deep voice, looking at Hikari and then to Sakura.

"You're welcome" the pinkette said looking at him in the eye

They all turned and jumped into the opposite direction in the forest.

"_CHAAAAAAA SO SEXY" _inner said. Sakura blushed and jumped into the nest again, leaving Hikari clueless following her.

* * *

The next day the girls sneak up to me Merchant Village and found out that the threat was gone. So they would return the next morning to follow their plan.

"What was all that blushing when you spoke to Madara?" Hikari asked Sakura as they jumped back to their nest.

"W-what do you mean?" Sakura said blushing again.

"I mean this" the brunette said pointing the pinkette's face. "You get nervous, you blush… Do you like him?"

"I DON'T!" she almost shouted "He's our enemy for kami's sake!"

"Not in this timeline" the Takishima shot "He's not our enemy at this moment, everything that got him to be the Madara that brought disaster to our life has not happened yet, and maybe it won't"

"What would I gain liking him?" Sakura said a bit displeased but knowing that her friend was right "I just know him for three days or so. I can't like him"

"Maybe he just remembers you of Sasuke…" Hikari started.

"He doesn't" she interrupted. "I would not like him because he reminds me of someone else, that would be cruel. Also I don't think of Sasuke like that anymore and you know it" She added "It's just I feel aware around him, he's intimidating but cool, and of course he's handsome, but the problem was Inner"

"That silly voice on your head that used to fed you up?" her friend asked

"_CHAAAAA SILLY VOICE MY ASS"_ inner said, Sakura sweat-dropped. "Yes" she said "She came back and kept telling me things like Madara was Sexy and stuff. It got me nervous"

Hikari started to laugh _"WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS GIRL'S PROBLEM?_ Inner asked-"_shut up"_ Sakura answered her.

"Sakura, inner looks like she is your subconscious. You are the one that thinks Madara is sexy, but can't accept it, so inner says this to you" the Takishima said as she calmed down.

"_OK, MAYBE I WAS WRONG, SHE'S NOT STUPID"_\- "Just shut up inner, go away" Sakura debated in her mind. She was red as a tomato.

"He's handsome, but I can't be thinking he's sexy. It's wrong, it feels wrong" the pinkette answered a bit down.

"Hey, cheer up" the brunette said "If we're stuck here in the past, it's ok to move on. This timeline is already different than ours. Anything you do won't affect our present… well, past."

"I only think he is handsome, but nothing else…" she didn't sound sure though.

"Nothing else?" Hikari asked. "I remember you acted weird when he gave you the scrolls"

Sakura opened her eyes widely. She remembered that she felt odd when their fingers brushed. It was so strange, a feeling that was foreign to her but also felt so right. She decided to dwell on this later and not tell Hikari about it.

"I was just embarrassed, that's all" the pinkette said. Hikari didn't buy it, but she left her friend be.

"Ok, let's prepare everything for tomorrow and then sleep." She said, she would wait to see how things develop in this timeline. She suddenly thought of Takato and Izuna, and shook her head.

* * *

The day after the meeting in the nest, the Uchiha siblings arrived at the Senju compound at dawn. Hashirama and Tobirama were waiting them at the gates. After a brief greeting, they travelled to the Daimyo's compound arriving there almost at eight in the morning.

The Daimyo was surprised to see them together, and also that they came without an appointment, but let them tell him their story.

Madara and Hashirama told him everything, the Battle, the peace they wanted. They mentioned the Kunoichi but they only said that they were passing by the Merchant Village and as they were attacked, they diverted the Hyuuga to follow them so they didn't harm the people anymore, and that's when they stumble upon them. The Daimyo was impressed of their actions, and he didn't ask anything more, not that the Uchiha or the Senju knew more about them either.

They told him about this land that was a valley surrounded by a cliff, a river and a forest. I was a perfect place to settle a village. The Daimyo looked at his map and scanned the area. It was a nice spot of land that was inhabited; it could be an asset to have a Village formed by two of the strongest clans in the Fire Country in that part of the territory.

After some debating he decided to lend them the land, and they would arrange the taxes once it was fully operating.

Madara was right, and at noon they left the Daimyo's compound with a scroll that gave them the permission to build the Village.

Once they arrived at the Senju camp they went straight to the council room and suddenly…

"TAKATO-KUN!" an agitated voice shouted.

The mentioned turned around and saw Ichigo-kun running towards him. He almost tackled him with a hug. The Uchiha was shocked by his action, Madara too, and almost every Senju around was astound to watch this little boy hugging freely a man that was their enemy not so long ago.

"BRAT BE MORE RESPECTFUL!" an elderly woman came panting hard behind the boy. She stopped in front of the Uchiha and bowed to him. "Thank you for saving my grandson Uchiha-san, I'm Senju Keito, the boy's grandmother" as the woman stood up straight she fought the tears in her eyes.

Takato whom was still shocked and haven't return the hug yet, embraced the child with his left arm and with his right one ruffled his hair as he looked at the woman smiling kindly.

"I did no such thing Senju-baa sama" he said "Takishima-san and Haruno-san did so"

"But he keeps talking about you, and your worth that you saved an enemy" the woman said.

"I hardly could think of him as an enemy" Takato said chuckling

"You could have let him perish, and instead you offered to treat him and called back up when he was almost dying in your hands" Keito said seriously. "For him, and for me, you are a hero" she added as she grabbed Takato's hand from his grandson and hold them tightly.

Ichigo let the Uchiha go and hugged his grandma, who let the man's hands go to return her grandson's hug.

"Please be welcome Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Takato." Wata Senju said from the door of the council room "Care to join us?"

They did as said and they had to face a group of ten Senju council members, some of them had fought against their father. But still, they were kind. Takato's actions and Madara's interest in peace and creating a Village had been noticed by them, and made the Uchiha gained the Council's respect. The meeting was short. Madara paid his respects as a Clan Leader and read out loud the treaty they had signed one day ago. Also the scroll the Daimyo gave them.

Once they left the room, Ichigo was still waiting for them.

"Have you seen the Frog Princess?" the kid asked.

"Yes, yesterday in fact we all had a meeting" Takato smiled at him, knowing that he was speaking about Takishima-san.

"Could you send her my regards?" the boy said to him expectant "Do you know when I'll be seeing her again?"

"Sure kid, I will" the Uchiha said ruffling the boy's hair again. "She might be moving to this brand new village mi anija and Hashirama-san are going to build".

"Woow really?" Ichigo exclaimed "I'll get to see you both every day? That's awesome!"

"Ichigo-kun, Takato-san and Madara must leave now" Hashirama said to the kid "We have to go to their camp to reunite with their council too." The boy seemed down so he added "You'll be seeing him soon, we expect to have the village done in less than two weeks. Maybe Takato-san can come to the compound meanwhile we are working someday" he said this looking at the younger Uchiha.

"Of course I can come by before the Village is done" Takato said and Ichigo's face lit up.

"Thank you Hashi-nii sama" the kid said and bowed. "Bye Takato-kun!"

"See you Ichigo-Kun!" the mentioned said smiling, and left with Madara to wait for the Senju siblings outside the camp.

"The boy seems to have developed a crush on Takishima-san" Madara said to his brother "Jealous?" he mocked. Takato snorted.

"Looking forward to see Haruno-san again?" he teased his brother. This time the elder Uchiha snorted, but they were saved by Hashirama arriving with Tobirama.

"Let's go, shall we?" The Senju Patriarch cheered.

The four of them travelled to the Uchiha camp and were received by Izuna and Kido-san. The Uchiha were colder than the Senju, but that was because of Tobirama, they were aware of him. Hashirama was a bright idiot, but an honorable man. And he had saved a pregnant Uchiha kunoichi, and led his men to help their enemies. For them Tobirama was a cold hearted person, an assassin. But they knew that his brother could hold his leash. Because of this way of thinking they were surprised to see Izuna greeting him respectfully, and the albino acting the same way. It seemed something had really changed since that battle, and it seemed they had to adapt to change.

Majime-san was hateful as always but this time he had almost everybody against him. They really wanted this peace. Kido-san greeted the Senju and Hashirama did the same Madara did on their camp.

Once they were finished the sun was setting. The three Uchiha siblings lead the Senju to the camps entrance and bid their goodbyes to them.

"This is the last sunset of our dark history" Hashirama said to his brother while running back to their home.

"Yes it is brother" Tobirama said, Hope starting to bloom in his chest. "Yes, it is".

* * *

As Sakura and Hikari entered the Merchant Village they were greeted by a lot of villagers that knew them from the fight. One of them offered food and some water, and they ate while they walk. Suddenly they felt two familiar chakra signatures.

"Good morning ladies" Izuna's charming voice greeted.

"Good morning everybody" this time it was Toka Senju.

"Hey!" Sakura said "how come you are both here?" she asked them

"My, my Haruno-san that is so rude to ask, you should answer Toka's greeting as well as mine" the Uchiha said nonchalantly. Toka eyed him entertained, seemed like the Uchiha boy was being more carefree near them.

"Good morning you two" Hikari said sarcastically "are you both spying on us?"

"Of course not, I just wanted to see you" Toka said. "It's not common for me to find strong and interesting kunoichi to befriend. I just want to be your friend" she added.

"Also Tobirama-sama sent you, am I right?" Sakura retorted.

"You should be thankful I was the one to come, and not him" Toka answered smiling mischievoly.

"It's ok, care to join us on our breakfast?" the pinkette invited them. They all sat on a big trunk near the carpenter's store that was carved like a bench for the people to sit freely.

"So, how was everything yesterday?" the Takishima asked both of them.

"It was alright" Izuna said. "Our people has only issues with Tobirama, but they seemed to accept the fact that he's going to be a recurrent character on their lives."

"What about you?" Toka asked to him curious. Both girls looked at them questionly.

"I'll live with it" the Uchiha said bitterly. "Well, I heard everything was fine at your compound" he suddenly changed subject.

"Yes, your siblings were greeted kindly. Ichigo-kun was the greatest host!" the Senju laughed.

"Is he doing fine?" Hikari asked concerned.

"Sure! He's awesome" Toka said "Everybody was impressed of seeing Haruno-san performing such a surgery on battlefield. No one around has that knowledge". Sakura blushed a little with that.

"I'm sure you have medics that can do that" she said.

"Um, no we don't" the Senju answered "They can perform small surgeries, but to extract an entire organ without leaving any injury, or the patient dying, nobody can. Not that I know of them"

The girls looked at her surprised, and then looked to Izuna, asking him with their eyes if that was true.

"It's the same with our Clan. I've only heard that Hyuugas heal chakra paths, but they cannot perform big displays of medicine" he said.

"Maybe you are from the future" Toka simply said.

Hikari almost choked with her food and Sakura spat her drink. Both Izuna and Toka eyed them curiously.

"Very funny Toka-san, like it is possible to time travel" the Takishima tried to sound confident, but those two were perceptive.

"Yeah," Sakura added "Why would you think that?"

"Well, you do know a lot of things about biology and medicine that nobody here knows" Izuna reasoned, he could have never thought about that possibility but now that the Senju said that it was a plausible theory. A silly one, but still an option.

"Th-that is because our village was very advanced" Sakura said, failing to sound relaxed.

"And what about this village of yours? Maybe we can go and learn some cool stuff." Toka said-

"I told you it doesn't exist" Hikari answered feigning pain, _'yet' _she thought "that's why we were here when the Hyuugas attacked, just passing by" she tried to sound like the village was destroyed so they stop asking questions, they weren't supposed to know yet, but that wasn't going to stop Toka Senju nor Izuna Uchiha.

"Ok, so your village doesn't exist, but what can you say about sparring with a Hyuuga?" Izuna added "Hyuugas don't spar, they fight and if they can, they'll kill you with no mercy, am I right Toka-San?" the mentioned nodded eagerly and looked at the girls. "How can you explain you being in good terms with one to do some friendly fighting? Maybe in the future Hyuugas become less stiff and not assholes". Toka laughed at that.

"I-I…" The Takishima was having a hard time trying to think of an excuse

"TAKISHIMA SAN! HARUNO SAN!" someone suddenly shouted._ 'Saved by the bell'_ the brunette thought. A middle aged man was running towards them "I heard that you were there and I wanted to thank you properly for what you did the other day. The Hyuuga gang has not appeared since then" he said breathing hard for the running.

"Thank you Mr…" Sakura actually did not know who he was.

"Is Ryutaro Koji, I'm the leader of this village" he said proudly "I found your names at the inns registration book. We had been robbed by those men for years, and now they're gone. And that's all thanks to you."

"But they caused destruction and killed people, we couldn't do much" Hikari said apologetically

"You did more than enough, you saved more lives than the ones that were lost." The man said honoured. "Where are you staying?" he asked.

"In the forest" Sakura said "we were thinking of staying on an inn here, if possible" she added timidly.

"Then it's settled, you will be guest of honor in our Village" the leader said, please join me and when he was about to leave he realized who the people that were with them were. "Oh my, Senju-sama, Uchiha-sama, I'm sorry for my rudeness" he bowed.

"Calm down man, we just came to see our friends" Izuna said, surprising all of them.

"Oh, so you're friends with Takishima-san and Haruno-san, that's good" Koji-san said. "Is it true the rumor that you clans are going to build a Village together?"

"That is true Rytaro-san" Toka said "Our Clan leaders are starting to build it at this moment. We believe it will be done in two weeks"

"Once is done, the idea is to accept other clans to join it so it can grow" Izuna added.

"That's awesome!" the man cheered "Do you think it could be possible to us to join you? We could contribute with all our commerce, and we can benefit with your protection."

"I believe it is possible, let us speak with my brother and Hashirama-san" the Uchiha said.

"Let's celebrate, Takishima-san, Haruno-san, is there anything that you need before?" Koji-san asked.

"We were wondering if there are any job vacancies so we can have some earnings. We need to buy clothes, weapons and supplies" Hikari said.

"Also you will need shinobi armors" The Uchiha said.

"What?" the brunette asked confused.

"You will need to be properly dressed in case of battle" he answered.

"And some formal clothes for the Village inauguration" Toka added. The girls were worried that the could never pay for that.

"It's not a problem, you can order those things and pay them later" the leader said. "for Jobs, we need people in our Hospital, and also with our small security forces. We are in need of strengthen our perimeters" he added "you can start tomorrow and you'll be paid by the end of the week"

"That's very kind of you!" Sakura exclaimed touched.

They all started to walk around the village, they bought some clothes and finally reached the blacksmith tailor. Koji-san told him to build them her armors, and left them there for some minutes as he went to find more food and beverages.

"You should change on your new clothes" Izuna said "my brother's clothes don't look good on you" he smirked at the Takishima's faint blush.

"Come on, Izuna-san" Toka reprimanded him "you came all this way just to spy on them and mock them?"

The mentioned blushed embarrassed. He was used to Toka speaking to him bluntly, but it was different this time. It was like being in such a casual scenario was making everything more real. He ignored the thought that came through his mind and suddenly remembered another reason of why he was there.

"Of course not" he said "I also came to deliver this letter to Takishima-san" Hikari was a bit astonished by that, '_a letter?'_ she thought. "Its from my brother, Takato" he smiled deviously to her as he handled her the paper.

"Please Uchiha-san" she said taking the letter and trying to change topic "There is no need to be so formal since we are _friends_" she emphasized that word he had said not long ago. "It's Hikari for you both"

"The same here, It's Sakura, not Haruno-san" the pinkette said. "It's to formal and we're around the same age"

"Very well, it's Izuna and Toka for you both too" the Uchiha said.

"Hey!" the Senju exclaimed "How come you allow them to use my given name, that's mine to decide" she reprimanded him again "don't mind it girls, you just can call me Toka, please enter to the Tailor while I rip this bastard's head off" she pushed them inside the shop and started to shout at a very pale Izuna.

Once in the Blacksmith Sakura chose a dark green colored armor, while Hikari stood with a grey one. As she was in the dressing room, she took the letter and read it

"_Takishima-san:_

_Hope you and Haruno-san are doing fine. I take the boldness to write to you because the yesterday I bumped into Ichigo-kun and he couldn't stop asking about you. He wanted me to send you his regards. He seems in high spirits and he is almost completely healed. The boy keeps calling you "The Frog princess", he is a nice kid._

_I also think you'd like to know that we've settled everything with the Daimyo and we'll start building the Village today. We think it will be done in less than two weeks. It depends on how hard my aniki and Hashirama-san work with their mokuton._

_I expect you both can settle fine in the Merchant Village until ours is done, and forgive me if the messenger is a bit bold, he offered to go as we will go to the Valley and start the construction. You'll find out that he is a bit difficult to dissuade._

_Regards, _

_Uchiha Takato"_

Hikari read the letter and absentmindly smiled. It was a nice gesture to tell her about Ichigo, and the Village. It still felt odd the way they all speak, though Izuna and Toka were less formal. She wanted to answer him so she stopped for a minute and asked the tailor if he had some paper and pencil. She wrote her letter and sealed it and then when they were finished with the measurement she reunited with Sakura and the others.

"Please Izuna-San could you give this to your brother?" She asked the Uchiha

"Sure, but don't get used to this. I'm the clan's heir, not a falcon" he answered feigning loftiness.

They spent the rest of the day wandering around the Village. Toka and Izuna were really fun, and it was surprising to watch them interact. It was like they had never been enemies. It was easy to see that they have both respected each other for a long time but it was the first time they could be themselves around each other. Once they had their weapons bought and were settled at the Inn, the odd duo left. They had never spoken again about the future-thing. But as Hikari had thought, that wasn't going to stop Toka Senju nor Izuna Uchiha.

***** Author's note *****

**This chapter was a pain in the back to write, I don't know why, but I couldn't have ideas for it. All my ideas were for further chapters LOL.**

**Hope you like it, it took me forever, but next one is on the way!**

**Thanks for the Faves! Welcome to my story, and please if you like this, review ;)**


	13. The apprentices

**Disclaimer: Don't Own Naruto**

* * *

"_Uchiha San:_

_Thank you for your letter, it's awesome news that Ichigo-Kun is safe and sound. I was worried about him but knew somehow he would overcome this. He is a tough kid._

_It is also great news to learn that you have started with the Village. Can't wait to see it. _

_Don't worry about the messenger, he's doing fine. He pretends to be harsh and proud but he seems a good person._

_As we're going to belong to the same Village, please do call me by my given name. And Sakura too (she says Hi). I believe a lot has happened in less than a week so we can speak less formally._

_Keep us informed of your progress, and if there's anything you need do not hesitate to write._

_Regards,_

_Hikari"_

Takato finished the letter thinking that the Takishima was an odd girl: she was asking to be called by her given name and they barely knew each other. He thought that was a sign of trust that one only showed to people you were familiar with, though it didn't matter if they were friends or foes. He had called Hashirama, Tobirama and Toka by their given names while they were enemies too. '_Maybe I'm overthinking it' _he thought.

Suddenly Izuna, whom had been quiet to let him read, continued speaking about his day on the Merchant Village.

"The girls will do fine there, everybody loves them. They were given a room on an Inn for free, and they got some jobs working with the injured and planning defenses for the Village." He said with content.

Takato looked at him and realized his Otouto's demeanor had change a bit. He seemed calmer, and almost happy. He had really had a good day. Madara was thinking the same without even knowing. Izuna was always an open person and cocky because of that, but now he looked more self grounded. _'And if you think that it has only been two days since he had the fight with those two.'_ the Patriarch though _'I wonder what's going on in his head'_. Izuna kept talking about how the Leader Koji-San wanted to join the new Village.

"Also, the funniest thing happened" the younger continued without realizing his siblings' inner thinking "Toka-san told them that maybe they were from the future, she was being so silly that both of them got nervous. Maybe they've realized that that Senju is crazy" he laughed at that part, "Man, Toka might be one of the strongest kunoichi I've met, but she is crazy… and scary" he paled but then he widely smiled.

Both his siblings looked at him, they decided to let go the way he talked and acted about Toka, but Madara's attention also got caught with another thing.

"Why would she say they are from the future?" The patriarch asked serious.

"That's the same thing Sakura-San asked her" the youngest said. Madara dismissed the fact that his Otouto spoke Haruno-san's name so freely. "But going on with Toka's joke, I reasoned the possible arguments about her theory. So I said that they do have a lot of science and medic knowledge that was way too advanced for our time."

"You really think so?" Takato said amused while looking through some Village plans.

"Come on, I was just being silly and following the joke!" Izuna said laughing.

"And then what happened?" Madara intervened. For some reason the silly theory didn't sound so silly to him.

"Well, Sakura-san said that their Village was really advanced. And when Toka asked about it, they told us again that it doesn't exist anymore she continued asking about Hikari-san saying she had spar with a Hyuuga" he answered

"And what did they said about that?" the patriarch continued.

"Hikari-san was about to answer that but was saved by the bell" he said smirking "well, not the bell, the Village leader. He arrived and congratulated them for helping their Village and us for the truce. The rest of day was all shopping and helping them settle there. Then I came back"

There was a pause, and silence filled the room. Madara was in deep thought, Toka's words couldn't be taken as a harmless joke, how could someone think of time travel? It sounded complicated, it sounded like Hashirama, and also Tobirama. After a moment of realization, Takato spoke:

"You're not actually giving this theory a chance, are you?" he said looking at his elder brother seriously.

Madara burst in laughter, and his brother thought it was a bit forced. Izuna laughed with him, so he didn't notice.

"I was just curious about this whole silliness" The eldest said innocently. "Come on, let's keep going through the plans, tomorrow I will need you to chop some trees". Takato sighed and let the whole thing pass.

"Oh… Taka-nii is tired before starting" Izuna mocked his brother.

"Shut up, just because your lazy-ass stays here for duty doesn't hide the fact that you are indeed lazy" the mocked retorted. And they started a playful verbal fight that ended with them sparring outside.

'_I'm going to speak to Hashirama tomorrow, I'm sure he's behind Toka's words" _Madara though, while he saw his siblings fighting and smiled. It didn't matter where those girls came from, he'll be always grateful to be alive to see Takato and Izuna sparring happily, and to make his dream of peace come true. _'But, what if they hadn't shown up? both might be…"_ and a black cloud menaced to cover his thoughts. He shook his head and reminded himself that they were there, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

"So, they got nervous when you said the theory?" Tobirama asked Toka.

"Yes Tobi, I've already told you!" the kunoichi said "But it was a really silly thing, I think they might be thinking that I'm a loony because of that, I still don't understand why you made me said it".

"They didn't need to hear that to think otherwise" the albino raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"You know I can kick your ass if I want to, right?" The woman said outraged.

"Now, now, you two" Hashirama said placating things. "We'll see how this develops from here. What did Izuna-san think?"

Toka paused to remember, "He reasoned what I said, but I think he was just picking up on them".

'_So, Madara surely might know by now… I wonder what would think about this" _the Clan Leader thought. "Well, there's nothing much we can do. You are free to visit them whenever you want, and you must report to us if you see or feel something strange." He told Toka. "You can go now and rest, we'll be up for a little while, checking stuff for tomorrow".

The kunoichi greeted both her friends and leaders, and left their home.

"Are you positive with this theory, Anija?" Tobirama said frowning to his brother.

"I don't know how, but it can be possible" the always cheerful Senju was serious now. "I spoke with Osuushi-sama, and he asked the Toads. There's no Toad Senjutsu user taught by them alive in our time, and you know how that works."

"That's really suspicious" the younger Senju said. "However, if you could learn senjutsu by yourself maybe she could too. We'll keep an eye on her"

Hashirama sweat dropped "Tobi, if they are from the future, they might not even be a threat. If they affect something in this time, hers will be affected as well. Also, it's different with Toad style it seems. They're the only ones that can teach it"

"You're so simple sometimes" the albino retorted "don't try to be naïve because you are fond of them"

"Of course I'm fond of them, they're fine kunoichi and good people" he said regaining his cheerfulness.

"So dense…" Tobirama said "You like everybody".

* * *

The next day Hikari and Sakura started their jobs at the Village.

"Good morning" the pinkette greeted everyone at the small Hospital, which was really a small clinic. The people there looked at her with admiration. She felt a bit self-conscious. "Is there anything urgent to attend?" she asked.

"Everything is fine, Haruno-sama" a woman said. Sakura knew that it was common knowledge to not to say 'everything is fine' in a Hospital because I won't be. Suddenly a boy of about 14 years old entered shouting with a very ill man on his back.

"PLEASE HELP ME" He shouted "IT'S MY DAD!" The pinkette run to him and grabbed effortlessly the non-breathing man from his back.

"Where is the operation room?" She asked going on full professional mode. The staff there took her to a small room with a stretcher. She laid the man there and started to scan him from head to toe with chakra. The boy had entered behind her, and was looking at his father and then at her bewildered.

"What are you doing?" he asked voice full of anguish.

"Shut up, I'm concentrating" she spat. He fell silent immediately. "THERE!" she exclaimed. She formed a Chakra scalpel and opened a hole in the man's thorax, where his right lung was. "Bring me a syringe or a tube, something, NOW!" she exclaimed as she saw everybody looking at her without moving. Somebody handled her a small glass test tube. She put the mouth of the tube on the hole she had done and then looked at the boy "Hold this still" she ordered. The boy's eyes were fixed on hers and without even knowing his hand moved by itself and grabbed the tube as ordered. Then the kunoichi broke the bottom of the tube, and a sound of air escaping from it surprised everybody. The commotion grew when the man suddenly started to breathe again.

"He had a pneumothorax" Sakura explained. "His lung had collapsed because there was air between it and the thoracic wall". She spoke to everybody in the room, while the boy was still holding the tube inserted in his father's chest. "I've released the pressure. He'll be fine, but I still need to work on him." She looked at the nurses and said "Please prepare a room so he can be taken care of later." And then dismissed them. She turned back to the man and his son.

"What's your name?" she asked serious.

"It's Ryuji" he said without moving.

"You're brave kid, I need you to keep holding that tube until I tell you, can you?" the pinkette enquired smiling softly. The boy nodded, so she got to work. It took her less than 20 minutes to heal the worse damage. She would let the man complete his healing by himself resting in bed.

Once the man was already set in his room, she went to the hallway were Ryuji was waiting. When he saw her, he run to her and grabbed her hands.

"How did you do that?" he was overwhelmed "How could you save him? I will always be in debt; I thought we would lose him too… I-I…" he couldn't continue because he had started to cry. Sakura's eyes fought back tears too because she could read between the lines. This boy had already lost someone important. She released one of her hands and softly stroked his head.

"Calm down" she said "He's doing fine because you brought him in time" she tried to reassured the boy.

"B-but if you weren't here h-he might have…" he didn't want to end the sentence.

"But I was here. Stop thinking about that" she reprimanded kindly. "Your father is alive and well. He'll wake up soon, so you better pull yourself together". Suddenly the sound of footsteps and agitated breath filled the corridor.

"How's he?" Ryuutaro Koji was running towards them "How is my son?"

Ryuji run to hug the Village leader. "He's fine grandpa" he cried, this time with joy and relieve. "She saved him". Ryuutaro who was hugging his grandson looked at Sakura with a clear look of gratitude.

"You can see him in a moment; the nurses are still cleaning him." She said "I had to put him on some sedatives after the surgery before he regained consciousness because it would be painful to him. But he might be all right by now" She added.

"Thank you Haruno-sensei" Ryuutaro said.

"Please, it's Sakura" the pinkette said smiling.

"Sakura-san" this time Ryuji, who had let go of his grandfather's embrace, spoke. "Please, take me as your apprentice" he asked

"What!?" she asked surprised. She was still an apprentice, how could she have one?

"Please" the boy repeated, walking in front of her and kneeling down in seiza position. "I need to be able to help the ones I love, Onegaishimasu" he bowed in the floor.

Ryuutaro was looking at his grandson sternly. He was such a good boy, just like his father. The Pinkette didn't know what to do, she thought about it and the need of trained people was a fact. And this boy seemed really passionate about that.

"Alright" Sakura finally spoke. "I'll teach you" Ryuji looked up at her in disbelief. "But don't expect me to go easy on you, because I won't" she added serious. "Just get up"

"I'll work hard! I promise!" He said as he got up "Thank you Haruno-Shishou" Sakura felt a pang of pain in her chest, as she remembered Tsunade Shishou.

"It's Sakura" she said "Please call me Sakura" she didn't want to think about their home.

"Then Arigato, Sakura-sensei" the boy offered his hand and she shook it.

* * *

Hikari was speaking with Ryuutaro Koji in the outskirts of the Village to check the security, when they suddenly heard a little girl shouting

"GRAND PA, ONEGAI GRAND PA!" she shouted while running "COME QUICKLY! DADDY IS ILL!" She stopped just a feet away from them.

"Megumi, what happened?" the man said anxious "Where is Ryuji? Where is your brother?"

"He took daddy to the Hospital and he sent me to look out for you!" the little girl said "Please hurry!" she grabbed his grandpa from his arm.

The man took her petit hand on his and said "Don't worry, daddy will be fine. I'll go right away" and then he looked at Hikari. "Takishima-san could you please watch Megumi for a while?"

"It's Hikari, and you don't need to ask" she said reassuringly. "Now go!" and the leader started to run towards the Village. The little girl stared at her grandpa running, and her eyes watered.

"Hey there!" the Takishima said "My name is Hikari, what's yours kid?" she tried to make conversation.

"Hn… Megumi" she said now finding the grass very interesting so she would not raise her head to look at her.

"I'm sure your father will be fine. My friend just started to work at the hospital today and she can cure almost everything!" she said a little bit cheerfully so she can make the kid feel a bit better. She secretly prayed that Sakura could see the man in time.

The little girl decided to look at her with her big teary eyes. "You think so?" she said.

"Of course I do, my friend is a fine medic kunoichi" she smiled.

"Whats a kunno-Kunoichi?" the girl asked.

"A kunoichi is a female ninja" Hikari explained "girls that trained to be shinobi". Now the girl was looking at her in awe. Thanks kami the divertion worked.

"Are you one? A k-kunoichi, I mean." Megumi enquired.

"Yes, I am" the brunette said. "But I'm not a medic, although I know a few medic ninjutsu"

"What's a ninjutsu" the little girl was full of questions, as it should be. She was the first kunoichi she had ever seen.

"It's also called ninja art, you use chakra to perform some techniques that can be used for healing or fighting" Hikari explained, and then she saw the confused look on her face so she elaborated "Chakra is energy. Everybody has it, all the living beings. A ninja can manipulate it for healing, fighting or defense. Here," she moved the girl a bit behind her "Let me show you"

'KATON NO JUTSU' she shouted and a small fireball emanated from her breath. Megumi's face was priceless.

"WHOAA" she said delighted "That was awesome!" she cheered and then added as an afterthought "Can you teach me how to do that?"

Hikari was taken aback with this question. "It takes a lot of time and practice, some people are not even able to mold chakra" she tried to reason, but it was hard to do that with a girl of no more than six years old.

"I will try hard, and I'll do it!" Megumi said firmly "Pleeeease!"

"Why do you want that so hard? You just learned what that was" Hikari asked.

"I want to become a kunno-kunoichi to help Papa and Nii san to defend the Village. I want to protect them, as they protect me" she stated simply. Kid's logic was so easy, and it always made sense.

"I-I don't know" the Takishima said dubious. "We should probably ask that to your grandpa"

"Then we'll go to see Papa at the Hospital and we'll ask Grandpa!" Megumi grabbed Hikari's right hand and pulled her back to the Village. After 5 minutes of running, the brunette took the little girl on her back and started to jumps from trees to trees to get to the hospital. The girl was having the best time, and Hikari silently prayed that Sakura had already saved that man.

"Ryujii Nii san!" Megumi shouted from Hikari´s back as they arrived at the Hospital. Hikari left the girl on the floor who run to hug her brother. "How's dad?" she asked "Did Hikari's neechan friend help him?"

The boy looked at Hikari and then returned his sister's hug.

"Yes, Sakura-Sensei saved him" He whispered smiling to his precious sister.

"Really!?" the little girl beamed "Wait, you said Sensei?"

"Hn, I will start learning medic ninjutsu" He said proudly.

"Cool!" Megumi worshipped his brother. "I'm gonna learn ninjutsu too, Hikari neechan will teach me" she said smiling "We'll ask grandpa for permission"

Ryuji was surprised by his little sister's statement and looked over the Takishima, who didn't want to get in any trouble.

"I told her no at first" she defended herself "But she can be very persistent"

The boy sighed, "I know" he said. "But I understand why she wants to do that. Father was injured in the last Hyuuga attack. He was healed by our medics, but then collapsed with a pneumothorax. She just wants to save her precious people, just like me."

Hikari knew that feeling very well, she had felt it, and she had witnessed it on Itachi-kun and also on Naruto. Remembering his cousin hurt a lot, Kami, she missed him!. Suddenly his face appeared in her mind, as if he was telling her what to do.

"Megumi," the Takishima called and the mentioned turned back to see her. "If your Grandpa and your brother are ok with it, I will teach you how to become a kunoichi".

* * *

Meanwhile in the future Konoha Madara, Takato, Hashirama and Tobirama were analyzing what was needed to be done.

"Takato," Madara Said "I need you to chop those trees over there, use my gunbai" he handled his large weapon while still looking at the plans both Leaders had done. The mentioned grabbed the huge war fan and left to get to work.

"I'll take watch for now" Tobirama said, and jumped to the cliff to have a better view. He sat down and started to infuse chakra to sense any possible threat.

Hashirama was moving the plans to get the view angle right, and kept talking about how they could start with a wall of wood, and once the Village was settled, they could add rocks and concrete. The Uchiha Patriarch though that it was the perfect time to ask his friend about that thing that pestered his mind since yesterday.

"Why did you make Toka ask the kunoichi if they were from the future?" he said. The Senju looked at him clueless, and then it hit him.

"Oh" he said "you got me" he added playing the fool "and as always, you go straight to the issue"

"You're a predictable Idiot" the Uchiha said "It was obvious that Toka wouldn't think of that out of the blue"

"So mean…" Hashirama answered gloomy. "Ok, I'll tell you" he said and inhaled profoundly to continue.

"You know I've mastered senjutsu by myself…" Madara rolled his eyes, his friend sometimes could be an arrogant bastard, even without meaning it. Hashirama looked at him and was about to say something, but instead he continued "Anyway, a year ago I learnt that because of my earth and wood Style the Sage mode I achieved is similar to The Bull Sage's, so I researched about him and found that he lived in the Land of the Grass" seeing his friend bored expression he made a pause and looked at him crossing his arms on his chest.

"Continue" the Uchiha said, boy, hearing Hashirama tell a story was tedious for him.

"In one mission I could get in touch with him. He didn't like the fact that I'd learnt by myself, but still was curious so even though we didn't make a summoning contract, he let me contact him whenever I want." He finished.

"And this is important because..." Madara said not understanding where his speech was going.

"I told Osuushi-sama about Takishima-san's senjutsu and he was utterly surprised. He told me that he had never heard of a woman that had mastered the Toad sage mode. He contacted Gamamaru the Lord of the Toads, and he confirmed that. But in return he also said that some days ago he felt some disruption on Chakra. And something about 'interdimensional chakra'" Hashirama explained

"What about that?" a vein was starting to pop out from the Uchiha's forehead. Damn Senju giving the information in parts.

"I can't remember, sorry!" Hashirama smiled cheerfully. Madara almost fell backwards. "Wait! Yes, he said something like the disruption was because of a massive interdimensional chakra flow. And that chakra is the one that they manipulate to come from their dimensions to ours."

"So because of this chat with an ancient Sage you concluded that the girls are from the future?" The Uchiha asked still in disbelief. Something inside him told him that it made sense, but he unconsciously refused to think it possible.

"Well, I spoke to Tobirama. I told him that maybe this disruption was caused by someone moving between dimensions. And given the girls advanced knowledge they may be form far ahead in time" Hashirama said proudly of his theory. He thought it was the only possibility, and was sure of that but he knew he couldn't ask them directly because it would be rude, and they might not want to answer.

"Right…" The Uchiha said looking at his friend debating himself on giving a chance to the theory or declare Hashirama mental.

"The thing is that Tobi said it was a stupid theory and that I was crazy" the Senju dropped his posture with that, all cheerfulness gone.

"For Kami's sake, this is the first time I agree with Tobirama" Madara said feigning displeasure.

"You're so childish sometimes" Hashirama said looking at him with a plain expression.

"Says the Daimyo of childish land" Madara mocked smirking widely

"You bastard!" Hashirama almost lost it

"ENOUGH YOU TWO" Tobirama's voice sounded almighty from a cliff above the Valley. "Weren't you supposed to build things? Stop chatting like two old ladies"

Both shinobi's face reddened a bit as they were ashamed of being caught fighting like teenagers. They quickly went to the perimeter of the Village and started to create the gates and wall that will surround the area. That took them the whole day. None of them spoke about the theory during that time.

It was late at night when two small patrols of Senju and Uchiha clansmen arrived to keep watch until the next morning. They were led by Izuna and Toka Senju.

"So this is all you could do in a day?" Izuna asked in disbelief "Just a Wall and a door?"

"They could have done better if they hadn't kept on talking all the time" Tobirama said in reprovement. The youngest Uchiha opened his eyes widely and started to laugh.

"Please tell me you didn't reprimand them like if they were children" he said. Tobirama's face reddened a bit and he turned around with a loud 'hmph'. "Oh Kami!" he added "How could I miss that?"

"Hey! I did work hard!" Takato said "Anija had me chopping trees with his gunbai all day" and he looked at his brother with feigned hatred. He was extremely tired, like he had fought with alone with an entire army. He wasn't used to his aniki's fan; he was more a katana man.

"Come on, look at it as training!" Madara said as motioned to grab him by his neck to ruffle his hair. His brother knew what he wanted to do and he just jumped to the nearest tree.

"Can we go now? I need to take a bath, I feel filthy" the middle brother pleaded.

"Yes, we must get going" Hashirama said. "Tomorrow we'll meet again at dawn. Bye Toka!" he added to the Kunoichi "Izuna-san" he bowed slightly, and then both Senju brothers left the place.

"See you Toka-San" Takato Said still from the tree "Izuna please don't do anything reckless and behave" he mocked his Otouto, and had to dodge a rock the youngest threw to him.

"Good Evening you both" Madara bowed. "Izuna, if you need anything summon us"

"Yeah, Yeah, don't worry" the mentioned said waving his hands in front of him. "Just go, trust me"

"I'll keep him safe Madara-san" Toka smirked. Madara almost laughed at Izuna's face. _'Maybe, that was…' _he thought but then he shook his head smirking too and left with Takato.

*****AUTHOR'S NOTES*****

**Thanks to Carmen765 for her PM, You made me rethink some stuff, and a lot of new ideas came! Hope you like this chapter.**

**Sakura and Hikari will have their own apprentices, and we'll get to see the Senju-Uchiha development too. Please be patient, I believe in two or three chapters Konoha will be finished and some important things will happen.**

**Hamura will be coming back soon too. I love to write the Brotherly relationship with Hikari. It's odd but feels natural. Sakura will regain her security and strength in this next chapters. She will still feel a bit aware around Madara, but she is a grown kunoichi fist.**

**I plan to keep Madara on character, but the show didn't let us see a side of him that knew what romantic love was. Hashirama had Mito, Madara had no one. But I believe, seeing him as a child and a man with honor (until Zetsu blew up his mind, and Izuna died) that he might be a gentleman, a caring person, and a bit shy. Come on, he's the perfect Tsunedere type, just see him in ep 368-369 (If I remember correctly).**

**Now the big question here is… Does Tobirama have a soft side? MUAHAHA I think he is in denial.**


	14. A Messenger's task

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! (I would love to though)**

In the Hospital, Megumi was sitting in his father's bed, talking about fireballs and chakra. The man, who was called Ryuuichi, looked at her daughter with such a tenderness that would make the grumpiest person in the world smile, Sakura thought.

"Is it okay daddy?" the girl asked in joy "Can I train to be a kunno-Kunoichi? I will protect you and grandpa, and Ryujii will heal everybody!" She looked at his brother who was sitting next to the bed on a small chair.

"You know how she is, she won't hear a 'no' for an answer" the boy said to his dad. "She's too stubborn, like mom" and he smiled sadly.

"Hey cheer up son!" Ryuuichi said "It's good she inherited that, it's one of the best mementos of her that I've got" he added and caressed her daughter's cheek. "I know what you are thinking, and no. We couldn't have done anything for Satomi. But now if you study and train hard, you'll help other women to give birth." The man said proudly to his son "Megumi-chan is right, you'll heal everybody, and I have faith in you. You saved me". He put a hand on the boy's shoulder who had his head low in bad attempt to hide his tears.

Sakura and Hikari were on the other side of the room with Ryuutaro-san looking at the small family interacting.

"My daughter in law passed away giving birth to Megu-chan" he explained to them. "We weren't prepared in the medical field we didn't even got this small hospital. A trained doctor was on his way to the Village and his team was intercepted by a Hyuuga patrol. They didn't do anything to them but caused a delay on his trip, which was fatal. When he arrived, Satomi-chan… she…" The man couldn't continue, not that he had to say more. The girls felt really bad about the younglings, but that made them realize that most of the people there might have some sad background, it was a though era. "I would be honored if you could train my grandchildren. This world is too harsh for them, and they need to be prepared to face it"

"We're working on that, we hope this new Village Uchiha and Senju are creating will make a difference" the pinkette said.

"I know" The old man said "That's why I made a proposal to move our village there. I already sent a formal petition to both clans, for I don't know where the new settlement is" he added smiling and scratching the back of his head.

"That is excellent news!" Hikari said "I believe it would be a really beneficial alliance. Please keep us informed how things are going"

"Of course!" he answered "Oh my, look at the time! It's getting dark! I shall leave you both ladies to continue your labors"

"I will go back to the barrier before it gets pitch dark" the brunette said "so I can get to chat with the night guard. Goodbye Megumi-chan, tomorrow we'll start our training. Ryujii-kun and Ryuuichi –san" she bowed "See you tomorrow" With that Hikari left the hospital and went to brief the night guard.

"I need to continue the rotation to check on other patients" Sakura said. Ryujii stood up to go with her. "Ryujii-kun, please stay with your father for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we'll start the official training. Come here by 7 am." She smiled at the family. "If you need anything please contact me, have a good night everybody" Sakura greeted and the left the room.

* * *

It was pitch black once they could return to their room at the inn. They bathed and then went to the dining room where the innkeeper was waiting for them with dinner. Once they were done, they returned to the room to get some rest.

"This was an odd day" Hikari said while leaned on her bed. "Who would have thought we'll get disciples" she smiled looking to the ceiling.

"True, I felt really weird when Ryujii Kun called me Shishou" The pinkette answered from where she was sitting next to the room's window. It was a small room, but comfy. There were two twin beds on each side, a small desk with a chair next to the window, and a small in suite bathroom. It was pretty modern for the era, but then again the merchant villages tended to have all kind of modern stuff product of the trading economy.

"It felt wrong" Sakura finally continued.

"Come on, you know we're stuck here" her friend answered. "I don't think Tsunade-Sama would get mad about that" she laughed "She might for more insignificant things though" and sweat-dropped. Sakura laughed hard, and then both sighed missing their old lives.

"I really wish this can work" the pinkette said. "I mean the Village, the Uchiha and Senju union. This Madara seems a completely different person from the one we've met"

"Well, he is indeed. As I've told you before, he hasn't experienced the loss of his only siblings left, and I believe he hasn't stumble upon Zetsu yet." Hikari said "It's a pity we don't know the exact story, but maybe it's for the better."

"Yeah, about that… what are we going to do?" Sakura asked. Her friend looked at her not understanding so she elaborated. "About the whole 'being from the future' thing. Hamura said that we might tell them our story."

"I've been thinking about that. Toka's joke made me feel a bit aware." Hikari said. "But it seemed just a joke, because if not she would just have continued on it" she added "I'll wake Hamura up so we can talk, that guy is only here when he wants to. But Madara's brother said in his letter that today they will start building the Village and I asked him to keep us informed, we'll see how that develops". Sakura nodded at her, unaware of the falcon that was approaching through the night sky.

* * *

An hour earlier on the Uchiha compound, Madara and Takato arrived and ate something. The Patriarch was debating on telling his brother about what he spoke with Hashirama, but went on and did it. He was one of the people he trusted the most, and also trusted his judgment, so he told him the whole conversation with the Senju.

"You really don't think Toka-san's joke can be true, do you? That they are from the future?" He said looking at his elder brother

"The other day you said to me that it felt that fate had been twisted." Madara said thoughtfully.

"Yes, and you mocked me saying that I believed in guardian angels…" Takato snorted

"That's not the point" Madara said seriously "You do remember what you said to me the day before that battle? Don't you?"

_FLASHBACK_

"_Anija, do you have a minute?" his voice came from the engawa door._

"_Takato, what's going on? You seem a bit pale, do you feel well?" The Clan leader asked his brother. He was looking through his weapons, and armor. Tomorrow they will fight the Senju one more time. It was so tiresome._

"_I feel fine… it's ok but, you know I said some days ago that I couldn't feel everybody's chakra from tomorrow on? Especially Izuna" Takato said._

_How could Madara forget? His brother was sensitive to feel people's and nature's chakra since birth; however he was not actually a sensor like Tobirama. He could just feel but couldn't identify who owned the signature; he could only put a face on it with his Siblings' and people he knew the most, like Hashirama or Tobirama. However this ability was scratching the supernatural: his range of feeling could follow chakra to the near future – just a few days-. He realized that when their father passed away: he had felt odd days before, like something was about to happen and that's when he knew what his sensing time range was. He didn't even know how he could feel the future flow. While growing up, he had trained it to not to interfere with his life but before some battles he used this ability as an advantage._

_Two days ago he had scared the shit out of Madara telling him that he couldn't feel chakra anymore longer pass tomorrow. _

"_Yes I remember that" he finally answered._

"_Well it changed." Madara looked at him a bit shocked and secretly relieved "I'm feeling everybody, even Izuna. And something else…" He stopped to try to find the words to describe it._

"_What is that?" the patriarch asked warily_

"_I feel foreign chakra. Some chakra I have never felt before, like it suddenly materialized. I… I don't know, maybe they're new borns and I'm being oversensitive." Takato said smiling faintly. He couldn't understand how it could be possible that new chakra could appear from nowhere. _

"_That could be true, remember that we have some pregnant women in our clan that are about to give birth" Madara answered trying to calm him down. "Just be careful in the next battle, and everything will be fine" he finally said to assure his brother, but mostly to assure himself._

_END FLASHBACK_

"So you think that the chakra I suddenly felt was theirs?" Takato said and Madara nodded "What else do you think? That they travelled here and because they were going to save us that's why I could feel everything again? It seems like a very complex fantasy Anija" younger said.

"It can be a possibility… You weren't feeling anything, and when you regained that ability you felt chakra that wasn't here before…" Madara was lost in thoughts, and then he looked like he solved a puzzle because he suddenly said "Are you going to answer that letter? Because I wanted to send a gift to Sakura San as a thank you for saving Izuna and offering herself to be bait to the clans to set the arrangement."

"Yes…" Takato said eyeing Madara warily, his aniki was acting odd. "I will send it tomorrow because it's late for the falcons…"

"Don't worry, I will send it with Ōzora–sama." Madara interrupted rapidly.

"You will send Ōzora-Sama to such a vane mission? As in "the Lord of Falcons", a Sennin?" the younger intervened looking as if his brother had grown a second head.

"It's better with him because he cannot be detected" The questioned said "We can't afford to have Senju thinking we're trying to get and advantage in the creation of the village"

"You're just being paranoid" Takato sibling said "Izuna would say that you've lost it brother" he continued seriously "Or maybe that you just want to send her something embarrassing and you don't want to get caught by the common falcon service" and then he burst into laughter.

"Shut up Takato you're being silly" Madara fumed and stand up to go to the book shelf he had next to his desk. "I'm just going to give her one of our Uchiha Medicine books for her to research, she will be our medic soon and it's better for her to have access to some knowledge". He tried to play it cool but he knew he had failed miserably when he felt his cheeks growing a bit hot. Fortunate he had turned around so his brother couldn't see that. When he regained his composure he turned back and summoned Ōzora.

"Madara-Ōji" The falcon said with a deep voice "How can I be of help?" It was a regal big bird, almost two feet long, white with brown spots on its back and the outer part of its tail and wings. It had black pupil-less eyes, as if it was also an Uchiha.

"Ōzora-Sama I need you to deliver a message, if you don't mind" Madara asked politely. He loved falconry, and it was his most beloved summon.

"That is an easy task Ōji-san. I assume you need something else from me, am I right?" Ōzora said insightfully. Takato and Izuna looked at their brother, was there something else he needed from the Lord of the Birds?

"Yes you are. I'll tell you when we give you the messages. Can you wait for us?" The bird nodded, so the Patriarch said to Takato "Go and write your answer, I'm going to storage this book in a scroll and then seal it in your letter."

His brother felt suspicious about him, but compelled anyway. In ten minutes he was done and brought his letter to his brother, who didn't read it. He asked for him to put a post scriptum saying that in the seal at the end of the letter there was a gift to Haruno-san from him. Takato did what he was asked and Madara sealed the scroll.

"I'll send Ōzora-sama" please eat something and go to your room and rest. Tomorrow is going to be another long day. Takato looked at him suspecting. Once he was outside with the bird he said to it "I need you to check the receivers' chakra, if you fell something odd or out of place".

"What are you looking for?" the bird asked.

"I don't know yet, and I don't want to hint something that might not be there" Madara said. "Just watch and feel and then report every single detail to me".

"Hai, Ōji-san" Ōzora said and suddenly disappeared out of sight.

* * *

Sakura felt something approaching and turned to the window. "Well that was quick" she said out loud watching the night sky.

"What are you talking about?" Hikari asked her, she had summoned Hamura and was trying to get more information from him, but that man -well, spirit or so- was insufferable. He had just said that he'd help them when they had to tell the Uchiha and Senju the truth, and suddenly Sakura had spoken.

"I think it's your answer" the pinkette said casually. "I assume that's one of the Uchiha falcons they were talking about. It's carrying a message."

"I shall leave then, animals might sense me" Hamura said, and disappeared from the room.

An outstanding bird stepped into the window of their inn's room. It untied the message from its claw by itself and handed it to Hikari. Both girls watched this confused, no regular messenger bird was that independent, and it was definitely a ninja bird for it had chakra.

"Thank you" the brunette said absentmindly, and the she felt kind of silly. She took the letter and sat on her bed to read it.

"_Hikari-San,_

_Since I'm allowed to call you by your name, please do call me Takato and not Uchiha-san. _

_Today we went to the Valley with my Anija, Hashirama-san and Tobirama-san and we worked evening the ground and building the limits of the Village. My anija had me chopping trees all day long, while he and Hashirama built the village's walls and gates. Tobirama just kept watch (That lucky bastard)._

_I'm glad to hear that our little messenger didn't give you both any hard time. He came back home a lot calmer and seemed happier. May I ask what happened to him in that Village? He should go there more often._

_By the way, I'm sorry if my Otouto caused you any trouble by getting into the whole "from the future" joke. It was silly of him, but then again he is indeed kind of silly (But I have to confess it would be really incredible if you were not from this time)_

_Tomorrow we'll start the construction of the first buildings; I'll keep you informed of that._

_Please do excuse the length of this letter, seems that I went a bit overbroad. I don't get to write another one because my anija is hurrying me to finish this since he has to send something to Sakura-san (of course that is not purpose of my answer, I was going to do so anyway)._

_Hope you're doing fine, are you comfortable there? Sorry for the late hour._

_Kind regards,_

_Takato_

_PS: In the seal at the bottom of this letter there is correspondence to Sakura-san, just release it touching it and saying ´kai´"_

As Hikari was reading this letter her expressions changed a lot, Sakura thought. She looked glad, then entertained, and suddenly her eyes open widely and looked at the falcon the pinkette was petting and giving some meat. Then she continued reading until her expression softened. She heard her say 'kai' as she touched the bottom of the page and with a 'puff' a scroll appeared.

"This is for you" Hikari got up from her bed and handled the scroll to the pinkette.

"What is this? What did you read that changed your expression so badly?" Sakura asked her. The Takishima walked past her and faced the bird; she focused on its chakra.

"I think I might know why you're here" she spoke to it "And I know you can understand me" she added as she petted its feathered head. The falcon felt this girl oddly familiar and looked at her curious. "I am also pretty sure that you can speak, but you won't." and like if it was plausible, the bird opened its eyes a bit wider. It tried to focus on the task Madara-sama ordered, but her petting was making him lose his concentration. Finally it could sense both their chakras and found some interesting stuff its Master may want to know.

"What is going on?" Sakura asked again "And why did you give me this?"

"That scroll was sent by Madara" she answered with amusement "seems he had something to give you" she winked at her.

"WHAT?" the pinkette blushed.

"Come on, open it, I'm curious" the Takishima said leaving the bird and looking at her impatiently. Sakura opened the scroll and she found a small note and another seal.

"_Haruno-San_

_As you're going to be our medic in the new Village, please accept this book about Uchiha Medicine. Hope it can help you with your work._

_Think of it as a small payment of the lifetime debt that I have with you for saving my brother._

_Hope you're doing fine. If there's anything you need, just write._

_Sincerely,_

_Uchiha Madara._

_PS: release the seal with 'kai' and the book will appear"_

Sakura was at loss of words. How in kami's name she had made Uchiha Madara be in debt with her! "_THAT'S BECAUSE WE'RE AWESOME, CHAAAA! OH I WILL TELL HIM WHAT WE NEED…"_ For the first time in long time, the pinkette couldn't even retort to Inner. "_HEY! HELLO" _Inner said _"EARTH TO SAKURA, RELEASE IT SO WE CAN SEE THE GIFT", _and with the kunoichi regained her senses. She put the scroll on her bed and released the seal. A huge brown leathered book with the Uchiha crest on its front appeared. It was really thick and when she opened she read the name "_Uchiha Hanaki_" in a beautiful calligraphy. It was full of recipes, and some diseases, and when she grabbed it to look at it closer some loose sheets fell off.

"What is this?" she said as she lifted them. "Uchiha no densetsu" she read out loud.

Hikari walked to her and took the papers, they were incomplete but they told some legends about the Uchiha Clan. They were difficult to read because they were written like in a hurry. But they could tell words like 'moon', 'fire', 'nature', 'sacrifice', 'princess' and 'rabbit'. For a moment the Takishima recalled the Third telling her about the story of the Ōtsutsuki brothers, surely Uchiha might know it. She would ask Hamura later once the Falcon was gone.

"Well, are you going to answer it?" The Takishima said to her friend "We could do it now so we can seize the messenger; she smiled at the bird who seemed to bow to her in aproval.

"I-I think so…" She said and looked for a piece of parchment and a pencil. Hikari did the same thing, to answer to Takato. It felt a bit awkward to write with the bird looking at them as it was impatient. _'Hey, you want it fast or good?'_ the brunette even said to it once she had looked up from her answer.

Once they were finished, they sealed them and gave tied them to the bird's legs. The animal actually bowed this time and flew away across the dark starry sky.

"HAMURA NII!" Hikari called when she felt the bird gone "Come on, appear right away I need to speak to you!" The mentioned did as asked.

"Imouto, what happened? Was that a messenger falcon?" the Ōtsutsuki asked.

"Yes, and I believe it was a Sage" she answered "It had chakra for sure and kind of like the Toad Sage's, and was too independent to be a common ninja hawk".

"A SAGE!?" Sakura exclaimed "Why would they send a Sage to such a simple mission?"

"That's what I want to know" the Takishima asked, and after a pause she added "I think they are really contemplating the possibility of us being from the future, even Takato-san mentioned Toka's joke in his letter". Hamura and Sakura looked at her confused. "Come on guys!" she said "Sakura, remember when nii san spoke about interdimensional chakra?"

The Haruno took a moment to get the memories back, and suddenly her face morphed. She clashed one fist on her other hand.

"Sage uses that chakra to travel, so they might sense it too" the pinkette answered explaining Hikari's theory.

"Is there a possibility of that? Is the trail still on us?" The brunette asked to the demi-god.

Hamura took a hand to his chin and thought about that. It could really be possible, and also it could be worse.

"Yes, I'm afraid that you still do have that trail" he finally said "and it's completely possible that the bird could sense it too." He added "What worries me most is that it may have felt your seal too. I mean, the Ōtsutsuki Chakra you have in you. The sages are really long-lived and most of them knew my siblings and I. Remember that the toad that made the prophecies is the one that trained Hagoromo-nii"

Hikari's face paled and Sakura couldn't was at loss of words. If the bird had felt that and told it to the Uchiha it would really complicate things.

* * *

Meanwhile the Falcon arrived to the Uchiha compound. Takato was already sleeping, but Madara was anxious to hear some news about Ōzora-sama so he was still up reading some scrolls. When he felt his chakra entering the camp, he went to the engawa with some raw meat and waited for him. He had made contract with the Bird some years ago, and he couldn't treat him as an animal, he had formed a kind of bond, like they were comrades and trusted him. That's why he gave that mission to him.

Ōzora landed flawlessly on the engawa and greeted the Uchiha. He untied the messages and left them on the floor. Madara sat on the floor too, handled the hawk the meat and took the letters; one address to Takato and the other one to him in what he thought was Haruno san's handwriting. His heart beat a little faster when he read his name, but he quickly composed himself. He left the scrolls on his side and spoke with Ōzora.

"Do you have something to report?" The Uchiha said. The hawk looked at him thoughtfully.

"Those women were a bit surprised to see me actually" Ōzora said, Madara didn't interrupt him; he waited patiently for him to continue. "They seem decent humans, and both had huge chakra reserves. One of them has an affinity to senjutsu; her chakra seemed familiar to me"

"That was the brunette, wasn't she?" the patriarch asked, the hawk nodded so he explained further "she is in fact a senjutsu user, trained by the toads"

"Gamamaru is training humans again? I thought he quit hundred years ago…" Ōzora answered surprised "anyway, I found something that maybe it was what Ōji -san was looking for" he continued, Madara was anxious. "They had traces of interdimensional chakra mixed with theirs on their chakra paths. Care to explain to me why they have it? The only possible reason is for them to have moved between dimensions as we sages do and that is unlikely".

"I'll answer you with another question" the Uchiha said "Did you feel anything suspicious almost a week ago?" Ōzora looked at the man seriously, and tried to focus.

"I believe I felt some disruption of chakra about six days ago. But when nothing seemed to happen I thought it was another Sage's doing". The hawk answered but looked at Madara waiting for him to elaborate.

"Well, Hashirama has a theory… that maybe they come from further ahead in time." The patriarch said dubious, but then again all of what Ōzora said made that theory make a bit sense at that moment.

"I always told you that human was insane Ōji -san" the sage looked scornfully to the man. "How can two simple kunoichi time travel? Even us that can move between dimensions are not capable to go back or forward in time"

"I can't explain that, I fact I didn't believe that theory first hand…" Madara said defending himself.

"But now you do…" The hawk mocked him.

"It's not that I fully believe it, but there are other issues. They really have advance knowledge in medicine and a lot of political and tactics experience. Also, Gamamaru said that neither he nor his kin had ever trained a kunoichi before." Madara explained. "Also, the Bull's Sage felt the same disruption of chakra that you did, and you have just confirmed that they do have interdimensional chakra on them. Is just that everything seems to lead to that theory. They appeared from nowhere".

"I've never heard of anybody with the ability of travelling in time in a very long time. Actually the only ones I knew that could do such thing died thousands of years ago" Ōzora said. "Maybe those girls have travelled to another sage's dimension and that's why they have that chakra"

"You knew somebody that could time travel?" Madara asked in awe not paying attention to the sage's theory.

"Yes" the hawk answered looking suddenly serious "but their ability died with them, because their heirs didn't inherit those powers. As I told you, it was thousands of years ago. We don't speak about that."

"Why not?" the Uchiha enquired

"It's not our problem, it was a human thing. We, the beasts, have suffered enough for a long time. And we've lost too much too. There was only one human that was considered as an equal to us, but was killed in a horrible way by her own kin" he stated dryly but the man could feel the pain behind his words.

Madara's head was starting to ache. It wasn't possible, but yet thousands of years ago somebody could do it. It had to be related, but Ōzora wouldn't tell him. It was obvious that this conversation had bothered him, and who was this 'her' he spoke about? Maybe he will try to ask about that some other time.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you with bad memories" The Uchiha apologized.

"Don't be. It's not your fault" The hawk said "We live too much and lose too much in proportion. The thing is that I haven't thought of that human in a very, very long time. I don't know why I'm remembering now" he added "I'm the one that should apologise Ōji -san. It's unusual of me to get this emotional"

"It's okay my friend" Madara smirked at the bird "You have fulfilled your mission, next time I'll send one of the ninja Hawks so I won't bother you with this petty missions anymore"

"There is not a problem, in fact I wouldn't mind if you send me again" Ōzora said. He wanted to know more about that senjutsu user and why she made him feel aware. "There is another thing I almost forget to tell you, I thought it wasn't that important but maybe for you it is"

"What is it?" the Uchiha asked.

"That brunette woman… I think she knew I was a Sage" the hawk stated.

"How come?" Madara asked again surprised

"She told me that she believed I could understand them, and that I could talk but I wouldn't" the bird paused and then continued "She also said that she thought she knew why I was sent there after she read master Takato's letter". The Uchiha opened his eyes widely.

"She actually said that!?" the patriarch was pretty surprised; he passed a hand through his hair and sighed. "I'll ask Takato tomorrow about what he wrote to her. Is it possible that she could know you were a Sage because of her senjutsu?"

"It can be, but she must be extremely tuned in with nature" Ōzora said after thinking a bit "It's been centuries since I've known somebody capable of that".

Madara thought that everything could be possible with those kunoichi. He didn't know why, but he felt that there was a lot more than the "time travelling" thing behind their appearance.

"Don't worry Ōzora Sama, I'll keep you informed if I learn something new" the Uchiha said to dismiss the hawk. He needed a time to think by himself. "Please go and rest, I will to because tomorrow will be another long day. Thank you for everything" Madara kneeled and bowed.

"At your service, Madara Ōji" Ōzora bowed and then disappeared to his own dimension.

The Uchiha entered the house with the letters in his hands. As much as he wanted to read Haruno san's answer, he really needed to rest, so he put them on his desk and threw himself to his futon. He drifted away thinking about time travel, senjutsu, sages, pink, and sharingan…

"Damn you Hashirama and your theories" he muttered and covered himself up instantly falling asleep.

* * *

In the Senju camp, Hashirama sneezed asleep. Tobirama awoke suddenly and went to check on his brother. He was sleeping spread-eagled with his covers on the floor. He picked them and threw them on top of his anija and went back to sleep. _'That idiot surely moves a lot while sleeping'_ he thought as he dozed off again.

*****AUTHOR'S NOTE*****

**I want to thank all the new favs & follows. Also thank you #Guest (I don't know your name) for helping me realize that the summary was confusing. I fixed it, and it feels better now. I don't know how Beta works, I'll investigate about that. **

**Hope you like this chapter. Madara is a genius to me, but cautious. Hamura is back! and I loved writing Ōzora. There a lot of trails in this chapter that will lead to future content, so keep reading!**

**Ōzora means "big sky"**

**Ōji means "prince"**

**Osuushi means "bull" (Ch.13)**

**Hanaki means "Flower tree"**


	15. Training

**Disclaimer, I don't own Naruto, but this fic is mine.**

* * *

It was almost dawn and two Uchiha were eating their breakfast, almost ready to go to continue the creation of a dream. Each of them was also reading a letter.

_Uchiha-San,_

_Thank you very much for your gift. It will be a lot of help once we're settled in the new Village. _

_You don't have to feel in debt with me, I did what was needed to be done. It's my work as a medic and also my ninja way. It's good to see Izuna-san is alive and well._

_We're doing fine, maybe you already know about this but we got some jobs here and I'm helping people at the Village's small hospital. We have little room and few resources, but we're working as hard as we can. Please do not hesitate to ask if you need ideas once you're about to build one for your own Village._

_Hope you're doing fine too,_

_Regards,_

_Haruno Sakura_

_PS: You don't have to call me Haruno-san, just Sakura is fine._

Madara hid a smile while zipping his tea as he finished the letter. Haruno-san was also allowing him to call her by her name. It was really silly, but that made him feel lighter. Also the way she addressed to her work and ninja way made him feel proud; and he had never felt proud of anybody except for his siblings and maybe Hashirama. He looked at his brother form above his letter curious of his expressions while reading.

_Takato-san,_

_Thanks for your answer, I think you must be really tired with all that work out, that gunbai seems pretty heavy. I'm not a great weapons user for I've only trained with kunai, shurinken, and sometimes with katana (Yours is safe and sound by the way, if you are in need of it just tell me and the next time I see Izuna-san I'll give it to him)._

_As for your brother's attitude, I must say that just we had a nice day. He sure gets along with Toka-san, they have quite a peculiar sense of humor. They're, as you said, "Silly". Also very imaginative, I can't think of a way that they could come up with such an odd theory. I feel relieved though that you wouldn't have any problems with us being time travelers (It still doesn't explain how we came here though)._

_The length of the letter was fine, don't worry. But I would have felt outraged if you just wrote to me because of your brother (just kidding)._

_Good luck with the buildings, I'll recommend you to keep watch today instead of Senju-san, that seems to be fair._

_We're doing fine, we just got some disciples, can you believe it?_

_Regards,_

_Hikari._

Takato finished his letter and folded it, leaving it on the table.

"How is Takishima-san doing brother?" he heard Madara asking in a mischievous tone.

"Hn" he cleared his voice with a serious look "fine, seems that she got a disciple, both of them really." He added as if he was talking about the weather.

"Disciples?" The patriarch asked a bit surprised.

"Yes, disciples" Takato answered "Didn't Sakura-san tell you in that her letter, brother?" now was his turn to mock him. Unluckily for him, Madara was prepared and didn't allow his words to affect him.

"No, she actually thanked me for the book and told me that I don't need to feel in debt" He said "It doesn't matter though, I still owe her. We all do" he zipped again his tea serious. Takato was taken aback by his brother's calmness. Sometimes he was soo Uchiha that was boring. But he wouldn't get on his nerves today. He was fine, and also in good mood. It was kind of cool having someone different from the family to talk –well write- to.

"By the way, did you tell something about the "future" theory to Takishima san in your letter?" Madara asked again to his brother.

"No, I didn't" he said "I only apologized for Izuna's behavior because of Toka's joke… well I joked too telling her that it would be really incredible if they were not from this time"

"So you did say something" The older scolded him.

"I only said that, I didn't speak about you or Hashirama's theory" Takato defended himself. "Why do you care anyway?" Then Madara explained to his brother what Ozora-sama had said. "So you sent him to check on their chakra and they did have interdimensional one on them? Man, that's…" he paused, he couldn't continue… "is it true then?" was the only thing he could say.

"Maybe… What did she answer about what you wrote?" The Clan leader asked and his brother told him what was on the letter. "Don't worry about that, she seems to be following the Joke. I'll speak with Hashirama before doing anything."

"Do you want me to do anything?" the younger asked.

"Would it be a problem for you if they were not from this time?" Madara answered serious with another question. His brother made a pause to think.

"No" Takato just answered "What I said in my letter was true. I think it would be incredible, and maybe weird, but they seemed good people to me. I stand on what I said the first time: It feels that fate has been twisted by kami. If they come from the future, there has to be a reason."

"Good" The patriarch said and he smirked. "Then don't do anything, just be you." And he got up and motioned to the door leaving a confused Takato behind.

* * *

She started training at 6:30 am as her Shishou did with her. Ryuji was waiting at the hospital's door eager to learn.

"So, will I learn to use Medical chakra today?" that was the first thing he asked.

"Good morning to you too" Sakura said with sarcasm "No, you are not learning about that until you've mastered some other stuff. Come with me" and she walked away from the Hospital to the Library.

"Why are we coming here?" the boy said

"Because you know nothing about medicine or biology. Before you heal you need to fill that mind of yours with knowledge" the pinkette said as she greeted the librarian and went to the science isle. The place was small but had a good amount of books, one of the best treats of a merchant village for it had things from everywhere. She picked six thick books and handled them to the boy. "Here, you need to have this read by the end of the week". He almost fell due to the weight and maybe because of the impression too, She couldn't tell.

"All of this?" Ryuji asked whining "But I thought I would help you at the Hospital!"

"You will do that too, silly boy" Sakura said scolding him a little and then hit gently the books "This is just homework, you'll read this on your free time and once you're finished, I'll give you another bunch. Now come on, we're late for our shift." The kunoichi greeted the librarian who was smirking at the boy and left the building followed by a very tired and worried Ryuji.

Once in the hospital she started her rounds followed by her apprentice. "You must open your eyes, ears and mind" she said to him "watch and learn". And she showed him and some nurses how to do more effective first aids: she did bindings, casts, tourniquets, and also cleaned wounds without any chakra. For her this type of medicine was the priority, if they could do it right, they might increase the possibilities of a full efficient recovery, and even save lives that might be in danger as a result of bad hygiene or methods.

The day was really a 'good' one for learning because they didn't have any delicate patients. She preferred that so they could be prepared when emergencies called. When she ended her shift she left with Ryuji to the forest.

"Now you'll start your physical training" Sakura said "You need to know that to become a medic-nin you need to become a shinobi first. You must manipulate chakra". The boy looked at her in awe, he hadn't really thought about that but it made totally sense. "I am a civilian like you and took me a while to manipulate it, but I learned quickly enough and I was about your sister's age. You're older so you'll train harder and hopefully you'll get it faster." Ryuji swallowed heavy at her wicked smile.

"S-so…" He stuttered a bit "How is this training going to be like?"

"Every afternoon after your shift we'll run 4 kilometers through the forest to gain stamina, of course we need to do some lengthen workout first so you don't get hurt. Once that's done, we'll do some tree climbing, alternating with rock climbing, because that's one of the most completes activities to make your muscles work." She smirked as she saw the kid sweat dropping, did she look like that when her Shishou took her under her wing? She shook her head and sighed. "That activity will take you one hour or so, and after some stretching we'll meditate for thirty minutes. That's when the hard part starts"

"WH-WHAT!?" he shouted "wasn't that the hard part!?" his voice became very high toned from the fear.

"Of course! That's only physical training…" Sakura said as if it was nothing "… that will increase when you get used to it" Ryuji's face was priceless "The hardest part for you will be to concentrate and expel chakra from your body. That will take you a while, but if you're strong enough both physically and mentally, you'll be able to do it. Now we'll start with the lengthening workout."

The teenage mimicked her movements and stretched, then he started to follow her running through the forest, which was more difficult than he had imagined because the land wasn't even and there were roots and rocks everywhere. They had to stop a few times because he needed to catch some air, but Sakura-sensei wasn't very patient and only gave him one minute to recover and continue. Tree climbing wasn't easy either, with all that running he didn't have energy on his legs, so he kept failing to attach himself safely to the branches. He fell some times to the grass, and it hurt like hell, but her sensei only looked at him and told him to try again. Kami, she could be mean. Once he was all beaten up it was time to meditate. He doze off a bit after ten minutes, and woke up abruptly because he was hit by a small rock on his head. He looked at his sensei but she was deeply concentrated, so he tried to end the meditation fighting the tiredness.

"Okay Ryuji-kun, now's chakra time!" Sakura cheered up and the boy wanted to throw a rock to her too. "Why that long face?" the kunoichi asked "don't you want to save people? You need to be stronger to do that" she teased him.

"I will do that" he answered full of determination. He was beaten up but he'll do his best for his father, grandfather and little sister. And also for everybody in the village.

"That's what I wanted to hear" the pinkette smirked proudly "Now sit down again in meditation position." The boy did as said and she sat infront of him a few feet away "you need to concentrate on your body, your energy." She remembered Tsunade-sama's words "Close your eyes and focus feel your chakra flowing in your body, be conscious of it. Chakra is the energy that resides in all living forms in nature, it's the mix of your body and mind energy. When that is balanced you will feel it"

"I don't feel anything" Ryuji said exasperated.

"That's because you're overthinking things. Your mind is not relaxed, nor isn't your body. Feel all the cells in your body, your breathing, your heartbeat, feel that flow and relax. You'll get there" she smiled confidently.

The boy tried for over an hour but couldn't feel anything. He was really upset and Sakura noticed it

"That's all for today" she called of the day "It's getting dark and you need a bath and a meal. Your sister might be home already. Get some rest, tomorrow your father will be released from the Hospital, so once you accompany him home, find me here to resume training." She realized he was still feeling down so she added "Don't feel bad, it's the first day. I bet once you don't feel the strain of the workout you'll get it quick" she winked.

Ryuji sighed "I hope so…" and both went back to the Village. He didn't believe in that yet, but he also wouldn't give up so easily.

* * *

"Ohayo Hikari Senseiii!" Megumi greeted her teacher at the village fountain.

"Good morning Megumi chan!" the kunoichi smiled at her. It was eight in the morning, she wasn't going to make this little girl suffer like Sakura did with the poor boy making him wake up probably at 5 am. She almost sweat dropped at the thought.

"What are we going to do? How is my training going to be?" the girl asked curious. It was lovely.

"Very well, the shinobi training is hard. We need to work on your stamina, agility, speed, and strength first, and then we'll start on chakra" Hikari explained "a kunoichi must know how to fight, defend herself and others, and also how to escape if needed, but first I'll teach you some theory" and that's when she realized Megumi had brought a small schoolbag, because she took a small book and a pencil and sat on the floor awaiting. Hikari laughed at that "We'll go to another place, here's not appropriate" and she made her follow her to the riverside. They sat on a huge tree trunk that laid on the grass, and Megumi grabbed again his pencil and book and looked at her expectant.

"The chakra is the energy that resides in all living forms, and most shinobi use it to perform techniques. You get chakra when your mind and body are balanced, but we'll get to that later." She smiled inwardly as she saw the little girl writing down some of the things she was saying. This kid was really clever, she thought. "The basic techniques a shinobi use can be grouped in Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu. Ninjutsu are techniques that manipulate chakra to do things that no regular people could do, like this" Hikari paused and when she saw the girl had stopped writing yelled "KATON NO JUTSU" and a regular fireball appeared before them.

"That's what you did yesterday!" the girl exclaimed "Will I learn how to do that?"

"Well, we must know if you have affinity to fire" she explained. The girl looked at her questionly so she elaborated "Shinobi's chakra have something called nature affinity, it can be earth, fire, water, wind or lightning" Megumi wrote it down.

"How do you spell lightning?" the little girl asked. The kunoichi smiled again, she was clever but still a kid. "L-I-G-H-T-N-I-N-G" she answered. "Good, go on please" her student asked.

Amused, Hikari continued "so, that's what Ninjutsu is all about. The next one, Genjutsu, are a group of illusion techniques that also use chakra, like this" the grass next to the trunk started to grow high above them and flower petals appeared from nowhere like rain. Megumi looked at them amazed. "Now we're on a Genjutsu, to release from it we must concentrate and say '_KAI_'" and then the illusion was of and the grass was even again.

"That was pretty" the kid said smiling

"Genjutsu don't tend to be pretty though" The brunette became serious "Shinobi use them to stop their enemies, incapacitate, and sometimes kill them" Megumi paled a little "Most times, those techniques show us our worse fears, but sometimes they can be used to do good, but that is not so common" she saw the girl wrote something down. "And last but not least is Taijutsu, techniques used to punch people and stuff" Hikari said trying to lift the mood, and not failing because her apprentice giggled a bit and looked at her. "It's like martial arts, do you know about that?"

"Yes, I heard my papa talking about that with grandpa" she answered "once a monk appeared in the Village and he did something like that".

"Well, that type of jutsu doesn't necessarily use chakra, so I think we'll start with that, what do you think kid?" the kunoichi asked.

"That would be awesome!" Megumi exclaimed again "But I want to use chakra and everything you did before" she pouted.

"We'll start with something, but that doesn't mean we won't be training other stuff." Hikari retorted. "Chakra requires stamina too, so as we strengthen yourself, you can learn Taijutsu and will be closer to mold chakra". The little girl looked at her for a while deep in thought.

"So, I train to be stronger and do Taijutsu, but you'll also teach me how to use chakra?" she asked

"That's right" The Takishima answered "The training is going to be hard, we'll work out every day, we'll run, escalate, swim, lift rocks and other stuff that will make you stronger and once that work is done, by the end of the day you'll meditate to reckon the chakra inside you. When you accomplish that, we'll work on the molding, but first things first. Streching time!" and she started to stretch her limbs so Megumi left her stuff on her bag pack and copied her sensei. They run one kilometer to check the little girl endurance and like every little child she had a lot, so Hikari made her run another one. They climbed some trees and then the Kunoichi made her do push-ups and work her abs.

"Are you tired?" She asked Megumi

"No sensei, I can continue" the girl said but one could see she was trying hard not to fall on her knees.

"Ok" Hikari recognized her effort "we'll start with some punches, come on hit my hand with all your strength", and she did. Megumi didn't have any strength right now, so she dedicated to show her how to do the moves right. They worked that for over an hour. It was noon so, Hikari made a stop and took from her own bag pack some onigiri that she had taken from the Inn. "Here, eat something and we'll continue later" she didn't have to say that twice because the girl almost devoured her hand too.

Once they finished their meal, she taught Megumi how to meditate, but because it was the first time she did it different. They went to the river and stepped into the water until it reached the kid's knees.

"You need to open your legs a bit like this" Hikari said "Put them at the same level of your shoulders… that's right" she complimented " and then turn your hands into fist and put them upside down next to your hips like this" the kunoichi showed how to do it. "and now you close your eyes and breath deeply. You need to concentrate on your surroundings, and yourself. The mind must be calm and you'll become aware of your body."

"Right!" Megumi said determined, and did everything her sensei told her. Hikari just smiled. They spent the rest of the afternoon meditating on the river and later seated on the grass.

"That's everything for today. Tomorrow we'll see each other again at 8 at the same place, and we'll run to the forest" The Takishima said "You work on your meditation at home, and practice without using any strength your punch moves."

"Hai sensei!" the little girl bowed.

"Let's go" the kunoichi said and they went back to the Village.

* * *

The Uchiha and Senju met again at the Valley and as the day before Madara and Hashirama continued building the wall and then moved to build some houses, so the night squads would have some shelter. Izuna's and Tokas' team had worked together pretty well, and they didn't tear their heads up either, the Uchiha Patriarch found that amusing.

This time Takato kept watch as Tobirama used his water jutsu to control the river flow so it could move across the land so all people could have a better access. When they were building the tenth house, Madara spoke to Hashirama.

"I've did my research too you know" the Uchiha said

"About what my friend" the Senju asked oblivious.

"About this Kunoichi and the time travelling theory of yours" he answered. Hashirama stopped his jutsu and looked at him.

"What did you find? I assume you found something, you seem eager to tell me" he mocked.

"I sent Ozora-sama to analyze their chakras and…" he started

"Wait a minute! You send a sage to spy on them!?" the Senju interrupted surprised

"Shut up and let me finish" Madara could kill Hashirama with his look. "I send him because Takato answered a letter to Takishima-san" He saw Hashirama frowning dubious. He didn't feel like sharing his interaction with Sakura, even if he was talking to his best friend. "Anyway, he felt interdimensional chakra on them" the Senju's eyes widened.

"So it's true?" He asked confused

"I don't know… maybe" The Uchiha said. "The thing is that they have it, and that fits with your theory. Also, Takishima san seemed to realize that Ozora was a Sage"

"How come?" Hashirama asked surprised again

"I was hoping you could tell me something about that, you're the senjutsu user" Madara looked bored to the Senju.

"That doesn't matter though. I can't realize that by only seeing the Sage." The Senju explained "To detect a Sage I have to be on Sage-mode and even with that it's difficult. Even Tobi, being the sensor he is, can't detect that. He can differ regular animal from ninja ones, but he can't truly identify a Sage."

"So that is another enigma" Madara thought out loud

"Indeed my friend" Hashirama said "Maybe in the future they develop new techniques" he said cheering up.

Madara was about to say something and again Tobirama interrupted them.

"You two gossip ladies" the Albino said as he motioned to them "If you truly want for this Village to be done by the end of this year, you should get to work now and stop chatting".

Both men were ashamed to be caught another time. That man did have nerve and good hearing.

"Oh Tobi, we were having a small break" Hashirama replied "it's pretty exhausting to build houses, you know?"

"Whatever…" His brother said and went back to the riverside.

They moved to build the Village's leader headquarters and they continued speaking about something else.

"What do you think about the title of the Village Leader?" Hashirama asked his friend. Madara was taken aback with that question.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I don't know, I think that the leader should be elected by the people, don't you think?" the Senju continued

"Hn. Yes, that's probably the right thing to do" The Uchiha said absentmindly. He had not really thought about that, He only thought on the peace, the Village and helping his Clan.

"You'd be a great leader" Hashirama stated.

"What!?" Madara spat "I-I don't intend to be leader of anything instead of my clan"

"But you're going to be one of the Village founders, and your capabilities as a strategist and in security are the best, even better than Tobirama" his friend complimented him. Madara blushed a little.

"You're right about that" he tried to sound cocky "but that doesn't mean I'll be a good leader. You're more open to people, you should be the chosen one. I'll keep that security and strategy you want, but you do the public relationships" he sweat dropped. It was strange though. He used to want power, but to help his people. And now, his friend was offering it to him so simply… He knew he would be a great leader, but he suddenly thought that he would be better as a backup and the Village's protector. "We'll see what happens once the village is done and open" He finally said dropping the subject.

"Okay…" Hashirama said pouting "Oh, that's right! I thought of a name for the position" he added excited.

"And what would that be?" Madara asked not really amused

"HOKAGE!" the Senju said moving his hands as he was drawing a rainbow with his palms open. Madara snorted, and he looked at him concerned.

"That's so corny!" the Uchiha mocked "the Fire Shadow"

"Hey! But that's cool though" he defended his idea. They started arguing again and stopped when they heard Tobirama coughing on purpose, and they resumed to work. The day was spent in building the soon to be Hokage's tower, and some other buildings. It was late at night when they spoke to each other again.

"I was thinking…" Hashirama started

"That's a Miracle" Madara scoffed

"Oh, grow up!" the Senju complained, and before his friend could even retort he added "We should pay Takishima and Haruno-san a visit"

"What?" the Uchiha asked surprised.

"Well, we need to speak with the Village's leader so we can settle the alliance. We could confront them about that and finish the issue" he said "What do you think?"

Madara contemplated for a while before answering. "Maybe that's the best, going straight to the point, I mean"

"Then it's settled!" the Senju exclaimed "We'll go to the Merchant Village next week, once we're more advanced with this, speak to the leader and confront them!"

"And maybe we could ask Sakura-san about some tips to build the Hospital" The Uchiha thought out loud.

"OOOOHHHHH" Hashirama sneered "Since when you're in first name basis?" Madara's face became deeply red, his friend could be so stupid when he wanted.

"Shut the fuck up" he muttered. "You're being childish as always. I withdraw what I said, you're not suitable to become a _'Hokage'" _

"Hey! Don't get mad" The Senju cried

"And once again the grown-ups acting like five year olds" Izuna's voice came from behind them. He motioned to Tobirama and added "I bet they got on your nerves today too, am I right?"

"Hn, sadly you are right" the albino said. "This two should be brothers between them so they won't be related to us"

"Oh kami, Have you just made another Joke?" Izuna said eyes widening.

"Don't mock Tobirama brother" Takato said appearing from the woods. "They really are insufferable" and with that, they all started to laugh. Even Tobirama snorted. The Clan Leaders sweat dropped, '_how ungratefull brothers we have'_ they thought in unison.

* * *

Days went by and the Village building advance quickly, In the Merchant Village the two kunoichi and their apprentices trained hard. A week had passed since their first 'classes', and they were getting better pretty quick, those siblings were very determined.

It was noon when suddenly Toka and Izuna appear from the woods and met the four of them. It was Sakura and Ryuji's day off so they had joined Hikari and Megumi on their training.

"What a lovely group we have here!" The Uchiha exclaimed smiling. "Don't you thinks so, Toka-san?"

"You're right, and also very interesting." The Senju added.

"Good afternoon to you too" Sakura greeted "This is a nice surprise". Hikari greeted them too and Megumi immediately hid behind her. His brother laughed at her but then bowed politely and welcomed the pair and introduced himseld.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ryuji-san" Izuna said "and may I ask who this beautiful lady is?" he asked gallantly as the little girl's cheek became red as a tomato.

"You really are a player" Toka said to him with a plain expression "you're scaring her"

"Oh , come on" he whined "I'm just being charming"

"M-Megumi" the girl answered in a shy voice, still behind of her sensei. "I'm Hikari-sensei's apprentice"

Both shinobi where surprised at the statement but the Senju spoke this time "That's a really pretty Name Megumi-chan" and then she motioned to Hikari "you have apprentices already! You sure don't waste your time, good for you!"

"And I'm Haruno-sensei's apprentice" this time it was Ryuji who talked. "I'm going to be a medic" he said proudly. Izuna eyed the boy and decided he kind of liked that determination, so he chose no to mock him, he just said "That's good to know, our Village is going to need good ones" and the teenager smiled and nodded.

"What brings you here?" the Takishima asked

"We just wanted to visit you, we miss you!" Toka said. "We've been keeping guard every night on the new Village and it was making us crazy. We wanted to hag out with you gals". She was sincere, this time she wasn't there with any other agenda.

"That's true" the Uchiha confirmed "and don't expect me to bring you a letter from my brother, because I know that he is using real falcons now" he smirked as he eyed the kunoichi amused. He was pleased to see that her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. He knew that Takato and her had been writing to each other.

"What would you say that!?" Hikari retorted "Oh, I see… You said you weren't a messenger, but maybe you just prefer that work over the night watch with Toka-san?" The grown-ups started to laugh, the brunette had efficiently dodge the Izuna's intentions. She was indeed writing with Takato almost every day but they spoke mostly about the Village and her training and apprentice. The last letter was the first one that contained some personal stuff, the middle Uchiha sibling wrote her about his favorite Katana and he also said that it was a gift from their late mother. She wasn't going to admit to anybody but she had started to expect the falcons.

Sakura, on the other hand, had only received only one extra letter from Madara telling her about the Village and then it was only regards through his brother's mail. Of course he was busy, but the lack of exchange made her feel a bit jelous of her friend.

The afternoon passed pretty quick because the Uchiha and Senju joined the practices and sparred a little with the Kunoichi so Ryuji and Megumi could see.

"We must go now, tonight's watch is going to be hell" Izuna said "Man, I'm so tired".

"Shut up, I'll let you sleep and I'll take first watch you sissy" Toka mocked. They both got in a small fight that amused everybody.

"Please take care of yourselves, take this if you need them" Sakura handled them a small pouch. The Uchiha grabbed and opened it. He found some small chocolate-like balls. "They are soldier pills" the medic explained "I make them from diferent herbs and have all the nutrients to regenerate chakra quickly enough. Just try to eat them with something sweet" she sweat dropped at the end of that. She needed to improve the taste.

"Thank you very much" he said after he almost puked because of their smell. The shinobi bid their goodbyes and the quartet left for the Village again to get proper rest.

***** Author's note *****

**Training time! Also a bit of time skip. There is one chapter left and then Konoha's big opening scene comes to life.**

**I just love to write Madara and Hashirama. Also Izuna and Toka. Hope you like them. *whispers*The time of the truth is coming *whispers*.**

**Thanks for the faves and follows. If you like it, please review! :D**


	16. Rage and parcial truth

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but i do own this story.**

* * *

After a few correspondences between them and Ryuutaro Koji, Hashirama and Madara finally arranged a meeting at the Merchant Village. They arrived pretty early in the morning and tried to dodge everybody's attention so they could caught the kunoichi off guard.

The meeting was until noon and they could luckily settle everything: the whole town was going to move to the new Village and they will arrive the morning of the day the inauguration, the leaders just had to tell them the date with three days of anticipation, so they could pack everything and go. It was roughly a 6 hours trip on foot.

When they finished, they tried to find the girls but they realized that Sakura was working at the hospital and they didn't want to disturb her. They felt Hikari's chakra on the woods and decided to visit her first.

* * *

Megumi was punching her sensei palms, practicing her aim and movement. She seemed very adept to taijutsu, and she was starting to feel the Chakra on her, but she couldn't do anything else yet. The Takishima felt two familiar charkas approaching and decided to wait to see what they were up to.

"Good morning Takishima-san!" Hashirama said cheerfully as he appeared from the woods. Megumi was caught of guard, missed one of her sensei's palms and stumbled. The girl looked at them and went behind her sensei again just like she did when she first met Izuna and Toka. She was a cutie with her blushing face, the Senju thought.

"Good morning to both of you too!" the kunoichi smiled looking at them and then at her apprentice that was hiding behind her. "Call me by my name please. It's good to see you, how's the construction?"

"Then call me Hashirama" he grinned very Naruto-alike. "It's going very well indeed. We believe than in one week it's going to be ready. Maybe sooner!" he added clapping his hands and looking to Madara with joy. The mentioned sweat-dropped.

"Good morning Hikari-san" the Uchiha said "I don't know if Takato told you in his letters, but we have only some buildings left to create. Today there are groups of our clansmen working the fields; we wanted to have some farms settled to gain some time. Ryuutaro-san sent us the plans and they are following them"

"Wow that's so cool, Uchiha and Senju working together like that" she said, trying to avoid the mention of the Uchiha sibling, because she felt she had blushed a little. Madara noticed that and smirked, but luckily it seemed he was smirking about the 'Uchiha-Senju working together' idea.

"Yes, we're very glad that our people are being united little by little. Hopefully, we'll get to smooth things completely" he answered proud.

"I'm pleased to hear that" Hikari said. "What brings you here today? I didn't know you were coming."

"We came to speak with Ryuutaro-san so we could settle the moving. We asked him not to say anything to avoid alerting enemies" The Senju said this time.

"That's good. By the way, this young lady behind me is Ryuutaro-san's grand daughter." She said pointing her back with her thumb. "Megu-chan why don't you introduce yourself?" the kunoichi smiled at her apprentice. The little girl moved aside pinker than ever, looked at the men in front of her and bowed.

"I'm Koji Megumi, Hikari sensei's apprentice. Nice to meet you" she said to them. The shinobi smiled at her and returned the bow.

"Uchiha Madara, and Senju Hashirama at your service little one" Uchiha said charmingly but serious. Hikari was taken aback by that, he seemed to like children but his face was still stoic Uchiha-like. But Megumi was an odd child, and she smiled broadly to him. Hashirama eyed him and hid a snort which Madara decided to ignore.

"So, the new Village's inauguration might be in a week or so" the Senju said trying to make conversation so they could ask what they really wanted to.

"We look forward to that, does it have a name yet?" the Takishima asked

"I had an Idea but Hashirama said it's not eloquent enough." The Uchiha said rolling his eyes.

"Why's that?" she asked again. He was about to answer but the Senju interrupted him.

"Oh, Please Madara 'Konohagure no Sato' is a very obvious name for a village hidden in a forest full of leaves" he said mockingly. Hikari didn't know that Madara had come with the village's name, was it like that in their time too? Maybe she had studied that at the academy, but frankly she couldn't remember.

"Shut up, it's better and cooler than 'Hokage' for the leader's charge" Madara retorted.

"That is a cool name indeed" Hashirama crossed his arms and looked away. Megumi was looking at the pair in awe and started to laugh.

"You're so funny!" she said "you are really good friends". Both adults were a little embarrassed about the perceptive kid's comment and decided to change the subject.

"We're really sorry to bother you Hikari-san, but we need to talk with you and Haruno San privately if possible" the Senju said seriously.

"What do you need to talk about?" now she was really curious.

"It's about your origins, you know. I mean about where you come from" he said. Hikari looked at him confused, so he elaborated "You know, about the supposedly joke Toka-san said…"

"You're the worst in getting to the point, you know" Madara interrupted him with a plain face. The Takishima's eyes opened widely. Her apprentice was there for kami's sake! How could they be so blunt?

"I believe it's not the moment or the place to talk about that…" she said a bit nervous eyeing the little girl.

"Oh!" the Senju realized what she was talking about "don't worry, we won't do an interrogation…" he said trying to sound carefree.

"So it is true, isn't it?" Madara interrupted again looking at her straight to the eye. He was good at reading people and what she just said and her attitude was a huge statement.

"Come on, five minutes ago you were rambling about me being the worse in going straight to the point, and now you ask it like that!" Hashirama said outraged. The shinobi duo argued a little, and that gave the kunoichi time to think. She knew the time of the truth was coming; they had talked about that with Hamura. 'Speaking of the devil' she thought, and saw Hamura appear behind them, she was the only one that could see him this time.

"Be sincere Imouto, if you don't it will be more difficult later". He said while nodding and disappearing again.

"Yes" she said shyly out loud. The men were still arguing so they didn't hear her. "I said YES" she raised her voice. Both shinobi stopped their fight and looked at her widely surprised. "B-but…" she started and suddenly the earth shook and a loud noise came from inside the forest some kilometers away.

"What the hell!?" Madara exclaimed. It seemed like an earthquake. Megumi hugged her sensei and Hikari felt Ryuji's Chakra approaching quickly. She had a bad feeling about what was going on.

"HIKARI-SAN! HIKARI-SAN!" the teenage shouted as he arrived, he stopped in front of the group as he regained composure.

"Where is she? What happened?" the men heard Hikari ask that to the youngling and they didn't understand what was going on.

"She's in the west side of the forest, we lost one" Ryuji said catching some air with tears in his eyes "A woman and her unborn child, they arrived too late from a town nearby and we couldn't do anything" he added suppressing a sob "I-I didn't know what to do"

"Be calm Ryuji, and stay with your sister" She said grabbing him from one shoulder "I'll take care of her" she smiled weakly. "Megumi-chan you stay and finish training with your brother. I'll see you tomorrow as always" she commanded the little girl.

"Hai Sensei" she said serious. She realized that something big was going on, and her Oni-chan was feeling bad so she wanted to look strong. Hikari nodded and turned to the duo.

"I'm sorry I need to find Sakura before it's too late" she said and jumped to the trees following Ryuji's directions.

"Sakura?" Madara asked looking at her as she disappeared in the branches "We'll go too" he said to Hashirama who nodded and both jumped not fully understanding what was going on.

* * *

"SHANNAROOOO!" the shout filled the air and then a huge tree was teared apart in thousands of pieces. The pink haired medic was feeling angry. She hadn't felt this bad since war and she had a strong need to destroy things, some of her Shishou bad habits had rubbed on her too. She was so unfocused that she didn't feel the three chakra approaching. Hashirama and Madara were quick shinobi so they had reached Hikari soon but said anything. When they arrived they watched the destruction the petit kunoichi had done with the place, rocks and trees smashed and scattered everywhere. When the pinkette's rage exploded again she prepared to charge to a mountain wall with her fist full of chakra.

"Wait" Hikari whispered to the men as she took a marked shurinken. They were about to do something but her word felt more like a command, and they didn't want to meddle. They saw her throwing the weapon to the rock and it got nailed in it, then she did some quick hand signs and suddenly appeared where the shurinken used to be.

"_That's Tobi's technique! I knew it was familiar when we saw it in the Battlefield!"_ Hashirama whispered surprised.

"_Shut up you moron!"_ Madara whispered lower and the Senju pouted. _"Be ready if something bad happens"_ he had a bad feeling about this.

"STOP NOW" Hikari shouted from her spot with her arms open looking straight at the medic. At that moment Sakura was charging at the mountain and had little time to see her friend in front of her, she couldn't stop on her tracks because of the momentum, but cut the chakra infusion and moved finally hitting the rock a few inches away from Hikari's head.

"ARE YOU MENTAL!?" She shouted to the brunette as she jumped some feet back. "I'VE COULD JUST SMASED YOUR HEAD YOU IDIOT!" she was enraged.

"YOU NEED TO STOP NOW, YOU'RE DESTROYING EVERYTHING" Hikari matched her voice level looking scornfully at her.

"YOU DON'T GET TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO, I'M NOT YOUR SUBORDINATE" she continued screaming.

"No you're not. You're my friend" the Takishima decided to low down her voice. "And I'm worried about you".

"YOU…" Sakura breathed to calm down. Her voice was hoarse from shouting. "You are not worried, you always felt sorry for me. For 'poor bad tempered Sakura' that destroys everything" she mocked.

"That's not…" Hikari started but was interrupted.

"I'm sick of it, of the protection, of being underestimated, of being incapable" the pinkette spat.

"Stop right there or you'll feel sorry of what you might say" the brunette warned and was starting to feel annoyed "I know you're not being yourself right now"

"You know nothing; you're perfect with your stupid sharingan eyes and all." Her friend said "You're like all of them, you pity me"

"What the hell are you talking about?" the Takishima was mad right now "You're the queen of your own pity party. You're the one that underestimates yourself the most"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Sakura screamed and a huge dark aura surrounded her

"I said that you underestimate yourself the most. You always think about the others but not about you. That's why you were left behind. The only time you wanted to achieve something was when you started your medical training and then it was only for others sake, or because you wanted to catch up with Naruto and Sasuke, It was not even for you" Hikari breathed hard as she finished and prepared. She knew that the pinkette was about to explode, so she added "If you want to let your anger go, you fight me. Don't destroy the whole forest"

"You sure have a suicide wish today" Sakura spat harshly to her friend as she cracked her knuckles and put on guard.

"You know me, I have nothing to lose" the Takishima teased her with her sharingan activated and launched at her.

The kunoichi engaged on an almost all taijutsu fight. Sakura's enhanced chakra fist aimed at Hikari without any guilt, she was lost in her anger. The Takishima dodged them using her Sharingan as she used to do in her spars with Neji; she knew that her punches wouldn't really hurt Sakura though because she was used to endure Tsunade's hits. They blocked and punched each other for like ten minutes.

"I hate everything that's happening" the pinkette screamed while aiming to her friends ribs "I hate being the weak one, I hate not being able to help, and I fucking hate being stuck here!" she added, and the Takishima could dodge the hit and grabbed her by her arm. Hikari was using al her might, because Sakura had monstrous strength, while she was having her trapped she tried to reason to her.

"I know it sucks but there's nothing we can do, so suck it up" she said. That didn't calm Sakura at all it actually enraged her more, so she connected a kick on the kunoichi's other side and freed herself. She jumped some feet back and grabbed a kunai as she waited for Hikari to recover.

"I'm mad, I'm not going to suck it up, so shut up" the pinkette charged again to her friend who had stood up a bit beaten. "If I could kill that idiot that sent us here I would do it" The Kunai clashed soundly and repeatedly "I was finally feeling alright and he forced us to leave everything behind". Hashirama and Madara were looking from the trees in awe. They couldn't believe they were fighting like that, nor what they were hearing. Someone had sent them here without their consent.

"You know they kind of remember me of us" Madara said a bit amused. Hashirama snorted loudly, and then froze in place because Sakura turned and looked at them, first to the Senju and then to Madara. Her eyes were full of emotion the Uchiha could tell, and he could identify some of them. Mostly it was Anger, but he could see sorrow, hurt, pain, loss, and a bit of embarrassment. The pinkette lose the concentration for a moment and finally Hikari could connect a kick that launched her some feet away. Sakura stood up and looked at the brunette full of anger

"YOU BROUGHT THEM HERE!?" she screamed again "YOU LET ME TALK WITH THEM BEING HERE?" the pinkette couldn't believe it.

"They know, Sakura…" The pinkette's eyes widened "Hamura told me to tell them" Hikari tried to reason with again

"YOU COULD HAVE CONSULTED ME!" Sakura shouted "OH WAIT! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? I'M USELESS!" she said with sarcasm and hatred obvious in her voice as she started to walk back and forth mumbling with rage.

"Stop calling yourself useless! And stop having a mental break down every time you lose a patient! You're not Kami, you're just a plain human like me" it seemed that they were not finishing this fight soon enough. Hikari thought a strategy, but it would be risky. She breathed and then shouted "I'M TIRED OF YOUR 'OH I'M USELESS, PLEASE NOTICE ME' SPEECH. YOU REALLY ARE ANNOYING". Sakura's eyes widen up as she froze in place and tears formed in her eyes.

"CHAAAAAA!" she screamed in pain and chakra started to burn on her fist. Hikari activated the Mangekyo Sharingan. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?" the pinkette was outraged; Hikari had crossed a limit, so she charged for one last time with killing intent to her best friend. The Takishima prepared herself and gathered the chakra she had assumed she would need. If her calculations were right, she'll need a big amount of it. She charged to the pinkette too with some chakra on her right fist, it was her only chance.

"SHANNAROOO" Sakura screamed again and connected a punch on Hikari's right jaw, as the latter did the same. Both girls had the other's fist on her face and were thrown back. Sakura's monstrous force threw Hikari several feet away through some trees that broke in half, and the pinkette fell just a few feet back with a huge bump on her cheek. The brunette didn't have enough strength to harm her more but that hit was more to clean her head up than to hurt her. The second the fight was over Hashirama jumped to the trees where Hikari had landed to help her as Madara jumped in front of Sakura to check on her.

"Remind me not to piss you off in the future" His deep voice sent shivers down Sakura's spine. She felt weak and ashamed, he was standing in front of her and she was kneeling down with her fist on the ground and her head low. Madara suddenly heard a sob and realized that she was crying. 'Did I do something wrong?' he asked himself in thought. "Why are you crying?" he managed to ask.

"I'm tired" she said, tears falling to the grass. "I couldn't save her, I couldn't do anything she arrived late. If we just could have the medicines or means to work fine maybe..." she made a pause but quickly continued "I'm useless, and destroyed everything. I beat down my best friend and was mean to her. I am really annoying" and she sobbed hard. Madara was taken aback by her words. So all this destruction was because she had lost a patient, but he could tell there was a lot more to it. He remained silent so Sakura raised her head and looked at him in the eye. She was ashamed she was crying in front to the mighty Madara Uchiha, but there was nothing she could do. "You pity me…" She said.

"How long have you been here?" He simply asked with a serious face. Sakura looked at him surprised of his question.

"Almost two weeks" she managed to answer. He seemed… angry? No, it was more like he was offended by her words.

"How many people have you saved in only two weeks?" he asked again without showing emotion.

"I-I…" the pinkette couldn't really answer "I don't know I don't keep track of that" she finally said.

"I believe you have saved almost 20 people" he answered for her. She was utterly surprised about his statement, she wasn't expecting that. He continued "Only in our battle you saved like 10 shinobi. Here Ryuutaro-san told me you saved his son on your first day at work, and you've been helping a lot of people with very few resources. You're not useless, you just couldn't save one person and her unborn child" He kneeled down at her level and reached for one of her shoulders, trying to ignore the cute little blush that appeared on her cheeks that were soaked by the tears right at that moment. "I know how you feel. I know the responsibility of having someone else's life on your hands and failing to keep them alive. I've been living with that burden most of my life, and I can't even heal as you do. The only thing I can do is protect them. You have a gift, but that doesn't mean you can save everybody. As I grew up, I realized that it was not that I was failing, I did my best and helped a lot of my clansmen, but just couldn't help some." His expression softened as he looked at her with eyes full of emotion "So… How can I pity you?"

Sakura was at loss of words. She couldn't take her eyes from his, he was comforting her and it was working.

"I have no doubt that you'll keep saving more lives" Madara continued "but sometimes you won't be able to. If you ever feel like this again, come and find me. I will tell you the same again until you get it." He smiled softly at her and she felt her heart skip a beat. He knew this was all a bit awkward so he added "We're just finishing the new village, so please stop destroying scenery" and now he smirked mockingly releasing her shoulder. She became red as a tomato, and suddenly burst in laughter losing her balance and falling on her butt on the grass. Madara sat down too and snorted and that's how Hikari and Hashirama found them.

* * *

The Senju had found Hikari on the grass beaten up. She seemed to have no serious injuries from that last impact because she had used her that Mangekyo technique to cover her body with an armor, he had seen Madara use it once. But she was bruised and seemed to have a broken rib from before the last punch. He put her right arm around his neck and helped her walk back to the field where Sakura and Madara were.

"Well that seems very out of character of him" the kunoichi commented while blinking in surprise.

"You'll be surprised if I tell you that the one you're seeing is the real Uchiha Madara. He was like that when we met as kids, always irascible but with a great sense of humor. He used to smile in spite of his pain." The Senju told Hikari "It's the first time in a while that I've seen him like that. I'd rather not interrupt them but you need to be checked up by your friend, if you insist on not using my chakra".

"It's ok" Hikari said. She didn't want his chakra because it was Asura's and she didn't know if maybe that would cause something if it got mixed with her Otsutsuki's Chakra. "It's not that they won't have any more moments like this. They're gonna see each other at the Village every day, we can make this happen again" she smirked at Hashirama

"Ohh I see… You're right" he smirked too "I would love to see this pair interaction daily. It's good to know that I can count on you as my accomplice" Hikari sweat dropped, but it felt nice to talk like this to the future Shodaime. It was like having Naruto at her side again. Then he cleared his voice. "It's good to know you're fine Haruno-san, but I believe Hikari-san needs your help here"

Madara and the Pinkette stopped laughing a bit embarrassed, and the latter stood up abruptly and run to her friend's encounter. She looked at her all bruised and almost started to cry again.

"I'm so sorry" she said "let me run a check up on you please! Senju-san please keep her standing". She started to emanate healing chakra while scanning her friend for injuries.

"It's okay kid, I believe you've broken a rib. But there's nothing else worth the worry" Hikari smiled to the opposite side of her sore jaw.

"I can't believe how you survived that impact with no harm" Madara said this time. He had stood up to from his spot and walked to them. "That simple hit might have destroyed your jaw". Hikari smiled sheepishly.

"I sent chakra to my skull to protect it. I knew once I said that, Sakura would release all her anger" the mentioned lowered her sight at her comment "Hey don't feel down. Luckily my calculations were right. I sent chakra to my fist too, because it was the only way to stop you. You're insanely strong, you know?" She smiled trying to cheer her up but failed.

"That still doesn't explain how you survived breaking all those trees" the Uchiha continued, he felt the way Sakura's aura was moody again, but they had to talk about that to overcome it.

"That's because in the last minute I activated my Mangekyo and formed a small Susanoo armor to cover myself" she explained "I'm not very adept to that technique, I can only form the thorax, neck and helmet. So it all depended on the way I hit the trees." That's why her eyes were a bit bloody, because of the extreme use of the dojutsu.

"Ok, you only have a broken rib. I've healed everything else" Sakura said. "I'll fix that now. Senju-san hold her still again please".

"Of course! And its Hashirama, Haruno-san" he smiled at her.

"Thank you Hashirama-san, It's just Sakura, then" she nodded smiling weakly, and then looked at her friend "You'll hear a bang and it will hurt but that's only the bone aligning, then it's just weld it." The Takishima nodded too and took a deep breath. Then the bang came and Oh, Kami it hurt like hell! Once she was all healed she let go of Hashirama and thanked him.

"I'm Sorry Hikari-chan" Sakura Apologized. "I don't know what happened to me, I thought I had learnt to control my temper" she was ashamed.

"Come on Sakura! You needed to release that frustration. We both did. I'm not happy of being here either, but we must cope with it." The Takishima said "I'm sorry for not consulting with you first about telling them. They interpellated me, it all happened at the same time." She stopped because she had remembered something. "We shouldn't be speaking in the open. Let's go back to the town and eat some lunch. I'm starving!" She motioned everybody to go.

"Wait, we're good, aren't we?" Sakura asked her serious.

"Of course we are baka" the brunette said smiling broadly. "You're my best friend; I'll always be there to beat the hell out of you if you're in trouble!" They both laughed and Sakura's tears were now from joy and relief. "I'm sorry that I pulled out the annoying card, it was a lousy thing to do"

"Come on, you used it well. If that's the case, it helped me to relieve past frustrations" the pinkette said sarcastically.

"Wait, what's the 'annoying card'?" Hashirama said.

"You never call Sakura annoying unless you want to be beaten from here to the moon" Hikari explained simply. Sakura nodded. "Her childhood love used to call her that and that messed with her head." They both laughed ironically at that phrase.

"How could you be annoying?" Madara asked not understanding.

"I was pretty annoying when I was little" She simply said "Though it's very sweet of you to think that me being annoying is not possible" Madara almost choked with her praise.

"Come on, you were a twelve year old with a crush, of course you were annoying!" the brunette said "He was an idiot obsessed with killing his brother though"

"WHAT!?" the men asked at unison

"You say that, but Itachi-san really messed up with his head" she defended the unnamed boy.

"That's true, but he was still an obnoxious and cocky brat even when everything was okay" Hikari retorted "I am relieved that you don't like him anymore". Sakura became quiet and Madara didn't know why he was feeling anxious about what her answer would be.

"Can't say that's not true. I'm also relieved of that" The pinkette said and snorted. "Would you two join us for lunch?" She asked the men who were still trying to process that little piece of information the girls leaked. "We can talk properly about what you wanted to know." Madara straightened up and looked at his friend.

"We'll be delighted to accompany you fair kunoichi" Hashirama said gallantly. Sakura smiled and walked back to the town chatting with Hikari about the fight. The shinobi followed them. Madara was pleased to hear that she was in good spirits again. She was telling the brunette how to improve her Taijutsu. He absentmindly smiled, and Hashirama elbowed on his ribs and mocked him. The Uchiha threw a dead glare to the Senju but resumed walking. Sometimes he hated that busy nose man.

* * *

The quartet arrived to the town and went to the Inn's small restaurant that was empty at that moment. The Inn keeper served them some Inarisushi and onigiri and left them alone when Hikari told him that they needed to speak in private. Once he was gone she did a silence jutsu, so nobody outside the room could hear, and they started to eat peacefully.

They talked about the food and the construction of the Village. It was a nice chat, Hashirama was very funny and Madara was more bad tempered but could be surprisingly funny when he wanted to. He seemed so different from the Madara of their time. That poor man might have suffered a lot the kunoichi thought in unison. Sakura felt for one moment the need to protect that man's laughter, the destiny he had had on their time was too cruel. And he didn't even deserve it. She immediately felt silly and blushed a little but excused herself to go and find some tea. She came back ten minutes later with a big teapot, four mugs, and some dango. She poured tea for the four of them and left the sweet treat in the middle of the table.

"Mm… Jasmine tea it's my favorite" Madara said pretty relaxed. It was odd for him to feel this way with people that were not his siblings. He tasted the dango and it was like he was eating the most delicious thing in the world, he became speechless. Hashirama, who knew him well started to laugh hard.

"You love that dango that much that you can't even talk!" the Senju mocked.

"Shut up and eat. You tell me then what you think" the Uchiha retorted not amused. The girls laughed at the interchange. Hashirama ate the dango and almost fell back of the chair. He was all teary with joy and exclaimed.

"This man has to establish a bakery shop in the village" the Senju said dramatically.

"Yes, and it is going to be on the Uchiha District of course" Madara said wisely.

"Hey! Why do you get to keep the dango?" his friend said offended.

"Because I ate it first and you mocked me." The Uchiha continued "Besides, the finest things must be on our District" he spoke cockily but joking. Hikari remembered that the Uchiha compound used to have the best Dango shop in the Village, and it was Itachi-kun's favorite.

"It's good you liked the Jasmine tea. It's my favorite too, you know?" Sakura intervened to stop the shinobi pair fight. Both men stopped the quarrel and nodded a bit ashamed.

"So, you wanted to know about our origins" Hikari said straight to the point like they had done earlier in the woods. "We can't tell you everything now. We must wait until the Village is settled. But we can tell you this. We are indeed from far ahead on time".

Madara and Hashirama expression was priceless. Even though they had been the ones with the theory and that had confronted them, finally hearing it from their mouth was astounding.

"We were sent here by some kind of divinity to stop some evil being that wants to destroy your world" Sakura said. "We'd love to tell you more, but we need to wait to the Village's creation. It's very important that it happens."

"Is it possible…" Madara thought out loud "I'm sorry, but is it possible that you come from our Village in the future? That would explain why you're son interested on it" Hikari nodded.

"As Sakura said, we can't say much right now. But you're not wrong" She explained.

"Anything we say may alter the course of your history line more" Sakura added.

"History line?" Hashirama asked.

"We can't explain that with exactitude, but it seems that the future from which we come it's not actually your future. Our arrival here has altered and created an alternate world." The pinkette continued. "So we want to maintain the most important thing you need to do. The creation of that Village."

"Does that have something to do with saving my siblings?" Madara said. Both kunoichi were surprised this time.

"Maybe… we actually don't know." Hikari said. "How did you come with that conclusion?"

"When you tell us your full story that will be explained to you, because it's not my right to explain it" he answered.

"Sounds fair" the brunette replied. "Do you have any more questions?" she asked.

"Tons of them" Hashirama said "But I believe you would say 'It's not the moment to answer that' so we'll wait." He laughed freely and then became pretty serious. "The only thing we need to know is if we can trust you. Are you really friends or foes?"

"We are loyal shinobi to your unborn Village" Hikari said serious.

"No matter what timeline it is" Sakura added proudly.

"Wow, that was moving!" the Senju exclaimed. Madara just smirked. They weren't lying, and both men could tell that.

"Do you have any problem with us being from the 'future' as you say?" the Takishima asked.

"No we don't" Now the Uchiha spoke. "We're sorry that you're stuck here though" both girls blushed a little; they didn't want to offend them. But they suddenly realized that he wasn't offended, he was really concerned because he added "There's no way for you to come back to your time?"

"Sadly not. Because the future of this time is not ours as we said. So if even if we could go forward, it wouldn't be our time." The pinkette explained. "So we need to settle here"

Secretly Madara was happy to learn that Sakura couldn't leave his time, but also he felt sorry about them. They had left all their lives and precious people behind.

"Okay. Please feel free to have our Village as your own Village. We'll continue speaking once it's inaugurated" He said, and he changed the topic to lighten the mood "Sakura-san, would you please tell us the directions to build the hospital? We also need to know if you need any resources, so we can gather them". Sakura smiled with enthusiasm and took a scroll and a pen that the Uchiha offered her. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about the Hospital, how to build it, the supplies, and all kind of stuff. The pinkette also gave them a list with all the herbs she needed, and even drew the plants that would look the same but one could be deadly and the other one not.

* * *

In the evening, the Inn was starting to fill again so they released the Jutsu and left the place. While walking through the main street Madara thought out loud: "I hope our Village has this life in the future."

"It sure will" Sakura answered and the Uchiha looked at her as if she was spilling the beans "Wait, I'm not spoiling anything! It's just mere logic. This Village will move to yours. The shops and the life will be moving too." She explained

"Well, that's true" the Uchiha said "I believe that it really won't take a week long to finishing the buildings. We thought the hospital was harder to make, but maybe in three days it might be finished. Tomorrow we will know. We can get the supplies once you're already there."

"Yes, that could be done" the pinkette said.

"We got to get going ladies" Hashirama said ending the nice evening. "Our siblings might want to kill us because we've been far from work long enough" he laughed nervously putting his hand behind his head, and thinking of Tobirama's scornful look.

"And you need some rest" Madara told both kunoichi "We do too. We'll see each other pretty soon." He nodded "I'm glad you trusted us enough to tell us something that important"

"Thank you for your trust, Madara-san, Hashirama-san" Sakura said politely.

"We promise we'll tell you everything once we're all settled there." Hikari added.

"Konohagure no sato will be waiting for you" Hashirama said. Madara looked at him annoyed.

"That's a lovely name" the pinkette commented.

"Thanks" Hashirama thanked charmingly.

"You thief, that name was my idea!" the Uchiha complained, "and you said it wasn't a good name"

"But the girls like it, so it might be a good one" the Senju defended himself

"Whatever" Madara rolled his eyes like a teenager and folded his arms on his chest. The Kunoichi looked at them a bit surprised and then grinned.

"We'll see you in some days then" The Takishima commented and bowed.

"Until next time" Sakura greeted.

Both shinobi bowed and thanked for the Hospitality. After one last look, they left the merchant Village to catch up with Takato and Tobirama in Konoha, their new Village.

***AUTHORS NOTES***

**June, 8th was my birthday so I couldn't update earlier. Thanks for the new favs and follows. Please review if you like it.**

**I wanted to write the fight beetwen the gals like two chapters ago, I only had the idea in my mind. Love Madara and Hashirama interation, and definetly Madara is the best.**

**I forgot to tell you, I have some sketches on Deviant Art if you want to check out how the girls and the Uchiha look like on my fic. I'm still working on more styled designs. You can check on them here:**

**Uchiha Siblings: ** bellahikari/art/UCHIHA-SIBLINGS-798570612

**Hikari:** bellahikari/art/My-OC-Hikari-Takishima-sketch-Narutoverse-796066502

**The girls arriving on the battefield:** bellahikari/art/Battle-Poses-795811285

**Read you soon!**


	17. Peace

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto *sobs hard***

* * *

Takato and Tobirama were patrolling the area while the farms were settled. They had already worked on the water system and finished it so everybody would have clean water. Each house had a small bathroom like in the Merchant Village and free access to the river's water.

It was already evening when they saw Madara and Hashirama appear in the horizon.

"It's about time for you both to appear" Tobirama said harshly crossing his arms.

"He's right, you know?" Takato compelled "You left early in the morning, what the hell took you so long"

"Well you know it's a 6 hours walk, don't you?" Madara said feigning being offended.

"Sure! But for regular people!" the younger Uchiha protested to his brother "Shinobi like you should travel that distance in less than 2 hours".

"Takato-san please don't get mad!" Hashirama intervened "We have all the plans to build the Hospital and we've settled the arrangement with Koji-San" he added "I believe it will be in less than a week that the village will be completed!"

Both younger brothers looked at their respective siblings suspiciously.

"Okay then, we must leave to rest now." The albino said simply "There come Izuna and Toka to take the night watch" The mentioned greeted everybody and the two Uchiha bid their goodbyes to Toka and spoke a little bit with Izuna before leaving. The Senju excused themselves and left after sayin goodbye. That night both Hashirama and Madara told their brothers what had happened at the village, and that the theory of time travel was true. Both were very surprised, but reacted differently: Tobirama was utterly suspicions about this females, and Takato became aware about the loneliness that they both might feel. That same night he wrote to Hikari-san, not minding the hour.

* * *

In their Inn's room, Hikari and Sakura spoke with Hamura.

"That's all we've said about us for now" the pinkette finished explaining.

"It's fine. It was for the best." The Ōtsutsuki assured "soon you'll have to tell them about everything, or maybe some highlights of the important parts. You choose what you want for them to know in the beginning."

"That's not fair; you leave the burden to us?" The Takishima complained. "You sent us here, we don't want to mess with their timeline or their heads. You really think we should say 'Hey Madara, you become blind with rage and then someone revives you and you summon a demoniac alien'? We're going to influence them, and that's not right."

"You've already changed their timeline, and you're already influencing them even if you don't intend to." Hamura said calmly "You need to realize that this is a new present with an unknown future. Some of the things you've lived might not even happen. Maybe even none of them." The girls looked at him surprised, they haven't seen it that way. They had given it thought, but that was the part that they were missing. "Why don't you let them decide?"

"Well, that doesn't seem a bad thing. But isn't like you're delegating the responsibility to them?" Hikari asked concerned.

"In some point it is, but if they want to know, you should tell them what they want to know. Otherwise they might not trust you." That statement made both kunoichi fell deep in thought.

Suddenly a bird landed outside the closed window. It didn't seem a Sage or a ninja animal, so Hamura just stayed still and turned off his chakra signature. Hikari was surprised to see a hawk arriving at that hour with a letter addressed to her. She grabbed it and realized it was from the middle Uchiha sibling. He must know by now that they were from the future. What would he think? She was a bit nervous to open it, but she overcame that feeling and read it.

"_Hikari-san, _

_I've heard that my brother and Hashirama payed a visit to you both. How's everything with Sakura-san? Aniki told me that you had a hell of a fight! I'm sorry I missed it (I'm joking, but it would have been cool to watch). Talking seriously, I'm sorry for her loss. I know that might be frustrating for her, being a medic an all. How are you both coping with everything? _

_As an answer of your last letter, I have little things that remember of my mother, that's why that katana is so important to me. We loved our mother very much. You know, her passing was the event that made us three awake the Mangekyo Sharingan._

_I don't need the sword right now, but I'm glad to know that you're taking care of it. Once we're all settled in the Village you can return it to me, and I'll teach you kenjutsu._

_Do you have any memento from your family? _

_Read you soon,_

_Takato"_

It was a nice letter, they were starting to speak about themselves in a more open way, and that for her was refreshing. She immediately answered it, and in the next three days, between training and construction the letter exchange went on and on…

"_Takato-san_

_Everything is fine between Sakura and me. Sometimes my pink haired friend needs to smash things to regain composure. She was too burnt out, and tired for everything that's been happening (If you spoke with your brother I assume you know a bit more about us right now). It's really stressful you know, and almost heartbreaking. But we have to endure, it's the only thing we can do._

_As for your mother, I'm deeply sorry of her passing and I can imagine the pain you three went through. Was your father supportive about it? I'll take even better care of the katana now, and I'll be delighted to learn kenjutsu._

_I had some mementos back home but I lost them. I always carry some photographs with me that always give me hope when I'm feeling down, though right now looking at them make me feel a little blue. I'll show them to you once we're in the Village. _

_Do you like any other fighting type besides kenjutsu? I like taijutsu and senjutsu (by the way). I try not to rely on my sharingan too much, so I preferred learning lots of other stuff._

_Regards,_

_Hikari"_

-o-

"_Hikari-san_

_Sakura and you seem to have a very nice friendship! I'm glad for you both. I don't have many friends, actually my friends are my brothers. But I think I might get along with the Senju trio. Toka is a very sociable person, and so is Hashirama (I can see now why my brother befriended him). Tobirama is mean, but at the end of the day I think we're not so different. As for what I know about you, I know nothing really. Only that the joke was true, but nothing else. If you want or need to tell me or my family anything you're the most welcome to do so, but I won't ask. I'm a patience person, and I like to respect other's privacy._

_My father wasn't really the supportive type of parent. He was mean to us, put too much weight on Madara-nii's back and always tried to made us compete between brothers. I once got really angry at him and he broke my arm (he didn't mean it but his rage got the worse of him). Mother was the one that protected us from his hatred and after she passed, that hatred consumed him passing some months later due to a war wound that haven't healed properly. That's when my Aniki became head of the Clan and I became his right hand (because Izuna is the youngest)._

_I'm sorry to read about the mementos… but, what's a photograph? _

_I like taijutsu too, but I have never really trained it. Maybe you should teach me that in exchange of Kenjutsu. I like ninjutsu too, and I also try not to rely a lot on my Mangekyo sharingan because my sight is getting worse with its use. _

_Kind regards, _

_Takato."_

-o-

"_Takato-san_

_How are you doing? A photograph is like a real life picture of someone or something. Here in the Merchant Village they have some cameras that are used to take them, I believe they come from another continent, that's why you don't know about them yet. You'll figure out very soon, they're pretty handy._

_It's not that I don't want to tell you anything, but it's difficult to explain. Thanks for the respect with that Issue, we will tell you more when we arrive at the new Village, I promise._

_Your dad really broke your arm? How could someone do that to his son? I can't tell you much about my family because they left me when I was 4 years old, I saw my parents again a year ago after more than 15 years. It was odd but pretty cool, and then it got weird. I believed I was not used to have parents anymore; I had become very independent since they left me. I always had Jiraiya, my god father, but when he passed It was only Naruto and me as always. Naruto is my cousin, but he is more like a baby brother to me, we grew up together as two outcast, and overcame a lot of stuff._

_So you would befriend Toka and Hashirama, even Tobirama!? That's good! Toka is a very nice person, don tell anybody but I believe there is something going on between her on Izuna and they don't even know yet. Or maybe I want them to get together, they're the cutest pair. Hashirama remembers me of Naruto, same attitude, kindness and idiocy (a lovely one though, they're lovely bakas). Tobirama seems cold, but also I think he is very rigid because of his family. I bet his father was like yours, that is a common place for a shinobi's kid these days it seems._

_Of course I'll help you with taijutsu! If you have any problems with your eyes, you should go with Sakura, she'll probably fix them. It's not fair that that great gift comes with such a great cost, but I'm sure she can help you a little._

_Do you know when the Village is going to be ready? Sorry if I went overbroad with this letter's length._

_Kind regards_

_Hikari_

Meanwhile, every time a hawk appeared, Sakura secretly hoped that Madara would write to her, but he always sent his regards through his brother's letters. To forget about that, she focused on her apprentice's training, and the boy ended every day al beaten up and strained.

* * *

It was the last day of construction or so they hoped. Today Takato and Tobirama where watching from the cliff as their siblings and clansmen worked. The Uchiha felt that the Senju was angry, and he realized he had never spoke with him properly, even if they knew each other as enemies since childhood. The albino was looking at Madara and Hashirama with a weird expression, but Takato could tell what that was about.

"You're Jealous" he said looking at the clouds in the sky. The Albino's eyes widened, was this Uchiha speaking of him? How could he!

"Shut up…" Tobirama spat, but went into deep think mode. He then said as an afterthought "Didn't you hate your brother when you learnt about their friendship"

The Uchiha took his time to answer, and after some thinking he said "I didn't hate him, I was angry because the wound for Suzumi was still fresh, I felt betrayed at some point. But in terms of Clan hatred, I believe you should speak with Izuna, you're very similar about that."

Tobirama snorted, was this Uchiha actually joking with him? Though Izuna seemed less 'anti' Senju every day, they didn't like each other.

"I know you´re the one that killed Suzumi" Takato said simply after a pause breaking his counterpart train of thought. He was once again looking at the clouds. Tobirama was shocked by his forwardness but felt no anger in his voice or chakra. He decided to wait and see where his words were going.

"You were defending yourself, and you were still a kid." Takato explained "Father was stupid, It was his fault for bringing him so young to the battle. If anything I hate father, not you. I saw the look on your eyes while you stabbed him. You were terrified, just like him, just like me. We were kids for kami's sake! You were trying to keep up with your father's orders, but I could tell you didn't really want that. That's when I realized that though being a grown up sucks, you can make a difference. You can save lives, or you can lead them to death. And I wanted to grow up to help."

"You sound like that Takishima girl when she called us monsters." The Senju mocked on purpose, he had to put his guard up, he wasn't expecting this kind of conversation with his enemy and he felt he was starting to empathize with him. Well, he technically wasn't his enemy right now.

"The moment she said that I remembered myself shouting at my father once we got to the camp before that battle." The Uchiha continued "Madara had just come from a 'mission', I think he was with Hashirama at that moment, and he saw father carrying Suzumi. I told my father that this was his fault and he tried to make me think that it was yours. That's when he broke my arm."

"What? Why?" the Senju couldn't hide his surprise.

"Because I said you were a victim just like my little brother." Tobirama looked at him speechless. "I shouted at him that he was only leading us to death and he didn't even care about his sons."

"How did he break your arm?" the albino was taken aback by Takato's words. His father was a hard man, he had mistreated Hashirama when he cried about their siblings' deaths. But this Uchiha sounded like pure evil.

"He grabbed it hard at first when I started to shout, and when I said Uchiha and Senju were the same he snapped it in anger." Takato made a pain expression as he snapped his fingers "Madara almost killed him and I awoke my sharingan."

"You awoke it earlier than Madara?" the Senju asked, that was really interesting because his Clan kept that hidden. Then after a pause he added "Somehow I feel silly asking so much" he wasn't used to be interested in people's lives, so he felt a bit embarrassed.

"It's ok, I won't tell anybody" the black haired man assured smiling faintly "yes I did but only some months earlier. It hurt when I heard he awoke his by learning that Hashirama was a Senju. It meant he loved him as a brother, and I used to think he cared more about him than us"

"I know how you feel, sometimes it's like you don't exist" the albino sighed "though I don't know why you are telling me all of this." He added crossing his arms and looking away. He couldn't handle any more empathy, it was really out of character and he hated Uchiha, why would he be interested in what this one was saying?

"Because if nobody shares their emotions with you, you can't learn how to share yours." The Uchiha said wisely. That caught the Senju off guard. Takato was really un-Uchiha like. "But you're wrong. I always existed to my Brother, we all did. But he needed to have a bond outside the Clan, because he was going to become insane"

"So you think that if you share your story with me I'll tell you mine and we will be best friends like our idiotic brothers?" that seemed like a bad joke to the albino, and he mocked trying to sound cool.

"HAHA I don't expect anything from you. It could be nice to be friends, but you don't seem the friendly type of person, no offense" Takato intervened shrugging his shoulders.

"Non taken, I do hate everybody." He said plainly. There was a short silence and then both snorted hard and started laughing. Tobirama would never say this out loud, but in that moment he knew that he had kind of befriended an Uchiha.

From the Valley Hashirama and Madara were amazed to see their siblings socializing like that.

"It looks that they are in friendly terms" The Senju Leader exclaimed smiling proudly.

"Those bastards, it's easier to observe than to build." Madara said gritting his teeth, the Hospital was a huge building and it was taking time in spite of them working together. But he was smiling inwardly. If somebody could be friends with that stubborn Senju, it was Takato. His brother was special, he always tried to understand people and their way of acting. He used to be very shy and reserved with his thoughts and feelings, but when they were teens he started to be more open to him and now he seemed to had cross another boundary.

"Takato seems more open, of course he was always the more self-centered brother" Hashirama said mockingly to Madara, who let the comment slide "But since that battle when the girls appeared he has changed. He is more self-confident and speaks his mind more secure"

"Yeah, I 've been thinking about that too" the Uchiha spoke "he and Hikari-san are exchanging letters," the Senju raised his eyebrows slightly at this comment "It started when Takato saw Ichigo some days ago. Maybe is good that he is forming a bond outside the Clan"

"Mmm I feel love is in the air" Hashirama said all cheered up and a bit girly, Madara looked at him sweat dropping.

"Man you are so weird" The Uchiha told him "It's only been what, two weeks? and you're now thinking about love. You need to find a wife soon."

"Oh, about that, how's everything with Sakura-San?" Hashirama was a genius in changing the subject when he wanted.

Madara's face flushed pink of embarrassment "You're an idiot you know? what do you imply?"

"Nothing, I thought maybe I felt something between the two of you" The Senju said playfully perhaps a spark? You were really cute reassuring her when she had her breakdown"

"Jealous?" Madara sneered trying not to be affected by his friend's words.

"Well, Sakura-san is a beautiful woman. If you don't go after her, I could…" Hashirama couldn't finish.

"SHUT UP she is not a prize you can be after!" the Uchiha cut his friend's words mad.

"Oh My, and you say you don't feel anything" the smirk the Senju had in his face was getting bigger as seconds went by.

"You're being insufferable, as I said I've known her for two weeks, stop saying stupid things and stop embarrassing me with your love tales." Madara added forcing his mokuton at maximum and finishing the Building. Hashirama stopped joking around because he felt his friend was not ready yet to face what he thought he was feeling, so he said nothing and helped with some details.

"That's all for today, tomorrow it's the last day of construction and two days later we officialy sign the peace and the conformation of the Village, Im so exited!" The Senju said claping his hands cheerfully and turning to leave

"Weirdo…" The Uchiha muttered "Ok we'll continue tomorrow, I'll write to Ryuutaro-San so they can move here in three days" he said to his friend who nodded. The Senju didn't comment anything awkward this time, and he looked the building one more time, _'I hope she likes it' _he thought and suddenly feeling aware of his thinking he blushed slightly. Takato and Tobirama jumped to where they were, and that made Madara regain composure.

"Wow, the Hospital looks amazing Aniki!" the younger Uchiha said "I bet Sakura-san will love it" he smiled and his brother noticed there wasn't any mocking tone on his voice.

"She sure will, she made the plans" Madara answered simply.

"It is a great building indeed" Tobirama commented impressed. "I bet that with the proper instruction the Village will be the best health spot in the Fire Country." He paused and then added "You're really mastering the Mokuton, Madara." Everybody looked at him, given it was a really long sentence for him to say, not to mention that he was complimenting something that Hashirama and Madara had built together, and also praising the latter.

"Takato-san, what have you done with my brother?" Hashirama said dramatically. The mentioned just laughed a bit uncomfortable and the albino sent a killing aura to his anija.

"You always have to ruin everything with your stupid remarks" Tobirama said bored hiding his true feelings as always. He turned his back to him. "So, when do we expect this to be finished?" he added asking directly to Madara, who was surprised that he was speaking at him so openly. Of course he realized it was because the younger Senju didn't want to address to the idiot of his friend.

"Tomorrow we will finish everything, and the day after we'll start the Clans' moving" The Uchiha patriarch explained "the Merchant Village will be moving in three days, and that's going to be the 'Big opening day'" Tobirama nodded at him.

"Are we going to send invitations to other Clans?" the conversation between the younger Senju and the eldest Uchiha continued, witnessed by a very amused Takato and a very depressed Hashirama. '_Tobi is so mean to his anija'_ the latter thought.

"Not right now" Madara said serious "I think we need to have an identity on our own first, and then invite others" he explained again "If we're not united they might think they can overcome us"

"That's wise, maybe it Should be better if we make a festival in some months so the other Clans can send representatives" The albino suggested.

"Yes…" the Uchiha thought "That could really work, and we'll show everybody that Uchiha and Senju can work together, and that Konoha's bond is strong"

"So, finally you've chosen 'Konohagure no sato' as the Village's new name?" Tobirama asked again still ignoring his brother.

"Yes, but your brother chose 'Hokage' for the leader's title" Madara eyed Hashirama and rolled his eyes.

"You need to pick your battles" the younger Senju stated, but that was enough sociability for the day for him "I must go then, see you tomorrow". He bowed and left passing next to the night squad that was arriving.

"What's wrong with him?" Toka asked looking back at where her friend was minutes ago, he had used his technique to disappear fast.

"He's upset with Hashirama-san" Takato explained. "He was being more open than usual and he made fun of him, so he was avoiding him, speaking straightly to Aniki" Toka's eyes widened

"Man, he really is mad at you if he preferred to speak to Madara-san instead of you Hashi!" the kunoichi remarked surprised. "No offense" she added looking at the eldest Uchiha.

"Don't worry" he said "you must have offended him, idiot. You should use more that brain of yours before speaking" he added looking at Hashirama who was pretty worried.

"I-I only joked about his attitude, what did you two talk about?" the Senju asked Takato.

"That's younger sibling's stuff" the Uchiha crossed his arms and looked away "You should ask him, and maybe you'll really understand him". Everybody looked at Takato as if he had grown a second head "What?" he defended himself "I can relate to him somehow, it's not that we're best friends or anything".

"I think I know what you are talking about" Izuna intervened. Now everybody looked at him without understanding. He smirked and said "Sorry, not telling either, younger sibling's stuff". Hashirama almost fell backwards.

"You're mean" Toka eyed the youngest Uchiha, but then smiled.

"I think I'll go to speak with him" The Senju said

"That's probably the best idea you had today, but don't make it worse. Though I still don't like him, I do respect him as a shinobi. And I'm sure it must be hard to be your sibling" Madara said. Hashirama was so depressed that he couldn't counterattack to that comment. "We're going now. Izuna, if you need anything please contact us".

"Very well then, but can you tell me when this is going to be ready?" his sibling said. "Not that I mind the company or the work, but I'd love to return to my normal life and time schedules". When Takato heard his brother, he remembered what Hikari had said in her last letter. Maybe Izuna liked sharing time with Toka.

"In three days we'll be doing the big opening" The eldest Uchiha said "But we'll be moving in Two days, so I'll speak to the council once we arrived so everybody is settled to move. Fortunately, they had been packing during this last week as a precaution"

"Cool! So everything's going to be alright soon" Izuna said "I can't believe it yet" he added hopeful.

"You will believe it soon brother" Takato said "Now we must go if we want to speak with the council and our people" Madara nodded bid his goodbyes and left with Takato and the day workers. Hashirama did the same, and left worried about his brother. He would mend things with Tobirama as soon as possible.

* * *

Once the Uchiha siblings arrived in their camp, they wrote some letters quickly and summoned the falcons to send them, so they could speak with the council. Kido-san was delighted to know the progress of the new Village, Konohagure no sato. He confirmed Madara that their people were ready and waiting keenly for the moving. It was incredible that it would happen in two days. He offered himself to go the next day to help them check if everything was ok.

The council assembled the clansmen in a small spot they used as a gathering place and arranged that they'll start moving in two days at dawn. Incredibly, everybody seemed really happy and Madara had to pinch himself without others noticing to realize that he was not dreaming.

* * *

Hashirama arrived at the Senju compound and found that Tobirama had already gathered the council and their people for him to speak with them, but in the meantime he continued ignoring him.

Faking happiness, he addressed to everybody and settled things up. The people were enthusiastic and left eagerly to pack. Once they were alone, Hashirama turned to speak with his brother but he had already disappeared. Now he was pissed! He teleported to their home and opened Tobirama's door without asking. The albino was taking his armor off and looked at Hashirama annoyed.

"What the hell do you want?" he said to the latter.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Hashirama spat.

"Don't answer me with a question, that's stupid." Now Tobirama turned his back to his brother as he left his armor on a chair.

"I want to know what the hell is going on with you" The eldest Senju reformulated.

"Tsk." The younger didn't want to speak to him, but he knew that nobody could beat Hashirama in playing hard. "I don't understand you" he just said

"Nani?" Hashirama didn't understand either.

"You always say that I am not sociable, that I don't have any friends…" he mumbled. The brunette was about to interrupt but his brother continued "that I'm too stubborn or mood killer, or tsunedere. You're always making fun of me and my personality. It's the first time I actually made conversation with someone and above all it was with someone I used to hate." He inhaled deeply "and as always it has to be focused on you". His brother didn't know what to say, there was a lot to read in that statement, but he was sure that if he said something things would get worse, so he remained in silence. Tobirama looked anguished, like he was supporting a heavy load.

"I know you're the heir, but you always were a crybaby. You are the kind one that everybody loves. You even got a friend outside the clan and loved him even more than your family. You lied to us" he was rambling, so he inhaled deeply again "I always felt jealous of Madara. You always listen to me, but if he's around, you'll hear him first. And I realized today that my problem is not with him, even though I don't like him and he's an Uchiha." Hashirama held his breath, feeling his eyes hot and watery. "You trusted him more than me, because you shared stuff. But we never really talked about what how we felt. We never shared our feelings." He snorted "Yes. It seems I do have feelings".

"I-I don't know what to say…" The brunette started fighting back some treacherous tears. He had never thought his brother would feel that way about him.

"Then shut up and listen, because I won't tell you this again." The albino said with a steady voice. "I never liked father. He was mean, and he used us like pawns. Mother was the only one that cared about us. I tried to be strong and closed my emotions to gain father's favor, but it was never enough for him. He was obsessed with you and tried by any means to make you overcome your emotional weaknesses. We didn't really exist for him. I always admired your naivity, I wanted to be more open like you and not caring about that. I felt… betrayed" he remembered Takato's words "… when I learnt you had a friend outside the Clan. One to whom you'd share your feelings and dreams. And when I realized he was an Uchiha, you couldn't let it go. You still loved him as a friend, as a brother. So I hated him even more than I hated Uchiha for killing Kawarama and Itama. I tried to kill his siblings. The same ones that now speak to me so cordially every day. Hell, I even killed one of them before knowing who he was" he sighed "I always felt ashamed of hating him more because of your friendship than for belonging to the clan that killed our family. And I'm really struggling with this union. But I realize I don't really hate him per sé, I only focused all my ill will on him." Hashirama couldn't dare to move. Tobirama passed a hand through his hair, sat on his bed and continued.

"I love you brother. I know you think I make fun of you because 'That's how Tobi is', but it really it's because I admire you and I want you to always be better than me. So today, when you said that stupid thing while I was speaking to 'Your friend' I got really upset. I was starting to feel that I could be myself, and you laughed at that and stole all the attention." He breathed out "as always".

"Tobi I'm sorry, you know I love you. You're my only family left, my little brother" Hashirama was crying now "I never thought that you could be feeling like this. I'm a terrible aniki…"

"That's it, it's not about you, you really are a terrible aniki but this is not about you." Tobirama said serious. "This is about me and how I felt almost twenty years". His brother was speechless again. "I don't think this is going to mend easily, but I feel relieved that I told you" the albino smiled at the eldest Senju, he too had his eyes watery.

"Tobi, you're admirable. You're the best sibling someone like me would dream to have. You're wise, and calm. You've always been determined. I'm sorry I was not there for you more. I'm sorry if you felt I loved Madara more. I'm sorry that you felt betrayed; I always thought that you didn't like sharing stuff. But for me you're the most important person right now. I only did everything I did for the sake of the peace and our people, but it was because you're the family I want to protect that I had the strength." Hashirama said and had to make a pause to gather air, his brother never interrupted him. "I'm proud of you, so please don't you never feel bad about speaking with Madara or his siblings again. You're the best Senju, and you too are trying to be better. Feel free to open yourself up. Father is not here anymore, and I'm not him. I want to really know you" He smiled fondly to the Albino.

"Then, why don't we get some rest and start at breakfast?" Tobirama said smirking to Hashirama. The mentioned smirked too and raised a fist in front of his sibling. The youngest raised his fist too and clashed it with him.

***** AUTHOR'S NOTES*****

**Thanks for the +3K views, the new faves and follows! I'm so happy.**

**This chapter was about peace, of mind and soul. Real peace not just a paper. I love writing the Siblings interact. I really like Tobirama and I think there's a cause why he is like that.**

**More deviantArt, and possible spoiler (?): ** bellahikari/art/What-s-a-photo-OC-Narutoverse-802055798

**Poll: Should I write an Omake about Izuna and Toka's working nights?**


	18. Inauguration

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

* * *

Ryuutaro Koji awoke to a letter addressed to him by Uchiha Madara. He hurriedly read it and smiled widely when he realized that it was about time to start packing. For everybody that didn't know him it may had been silly, but he had always admired Shinobi and to be more specific he was an Uchiha and Senju fan. Those were noble clans that were aroud for centuries, and he remembered his grandfather telling him stories about how those clans were descentants from some kind of deidity. He had always wanted to be a ninja, but in his younger years it was impossible for a civilian. He was so happy for his grandchildren now. For him to live in a ninja village with those two clans that had made a truce and were seeking peace was a dream come true, he would give his people security.

* * *

"_Sakura-San_

_I'm sorry I have not written sooner. I was really occupied with the organization and I didn't want to write to you until it was all settled up. _

_We did it. The Hospital, the Village. In three days you all will be living in Konoha with our Clans in peace._

_I hope you're ready because we're aiming to be the best health spot in the Fire Country. You already have people interested in learning from you._

_How are you feeling? Takato told me that you and Hikari-san were doing fine, but I preferred to ask you this directly. Do you need to be remembered of our little chat before that fierce battle?_

_I must leave now because we need to speak with the elders and our clansmen. I'm sorry for the hour and for the length of this letter but I can't help it. I'm happy._

_See you in Konoha,_

_Madara"_

Sakura read the letter twice, and her heart pounded strongly in her chest. Konoha… They'll be going home. It didn't matter the time, it still was their home. As she kept reading she realized that that small line at the bottom made her feel warmness in her chest: _'I'm happy'_. Uchiha Madara had written to her that _he _was happy. She could bet that he didn't tell that to everybody, and somehow it made her feel special.

"_OH MY GOD, YOU'RE SOOO IN LOVE WITH HIM!" _inner said in the back of her mind. "_Shut up you baka"_ she answered _"I'm only surprised that he is feeling that way. It seems that this was what he always truly wanted." "CHA! THAT'S TRUE. I TOLD YOU, HE'S NOT A BAD GUY, PLUS HE'S A HOTTIE" _Inner knew where to hit Sakura to enrage her. "_Ok go back to sleep you horny excuse of consciousness, stop pestering me". _ With that she got rid of Inner, but she didn't let go of her thoughs. She couldn't deny it anymore. She was indeed developing a crush on Uchiha Madara.

* * *

Hikari had received a letter too. She opened it smiling hard. She didn't want to admit it, but she sort of liked Takato. She hadn't spoken much about that with Sakura, because they hadn't had time, and also she was waiting to see how things went once they were in the new Konoha.

"_Hikari san,_

_Good news! The Village is ready. In three days you'll all be moving and we'll stop writing to each other (not that I don't like it, in fact I really do, but we'll be able to speak in person)._

_My dad was a huge issue, I will tell you more once we're all settled. I won't ask, but I take your promise. I'd like to know your story better, but that's up to you._

_I had a special talk with Tobirama-san today, I believe we've bonded a little. Then Hashirama made him feel bad and he stormed off from Konoha to their camp. I hope they are in better terms now._

_About that Izuna-Toka thing, maybe you're not wrong. We'll see how it develops. I don't see me having a Senju sister in law yet. The Clan laws are very strict to that, but hopefully Anija will change them. We always thought it was silly to marry inside the Clan, maybe that's why we have our sight problems._

_Speaking of eyes, I will surely check with Sakura-san. It would be awesome to use my dojutsu freely._

_Kind regards,_

_Takato."_

He wanted to know her story. That was the line that got her, was him trying to get information or something? She couldn't think about him like that, but her instinct told her otherwise. The Uchiha brother was kind of a puzzle. He was kind and seemed sincere, but she had never met a guy like him, so she allowed herself the doubt. In spite of all, she really enjoyed his letters and was eager to answer him, so she put her thoughts aside and wrote another note.

* * *

The next two days went by pretty quickly. Between the packing (actually helping villagers because they didn't have much) and the trainings both women were really exhausted and without any time. The night before the moving came and they couldn't believe they were going back home… or so.

"Hamura-nii what must we do?" The Takishima asked the Otsutsuki.

"We wait. Let them do the questions." The proyection said "They surely will ask you what they need to know. If not we'll see"

"You're not being of any help, you know?" Sakura said annoyed.

"I'm sorry!" the man said "Maybe you could tell them that I sent you from the future on a mission and I can make an appearance to prove that you're saying the truth?" he added apologetically.

"The Second might think it's a genjutsu…" Hikari said thoughfully. "But it may work. Anyway I believe we should tell them before they make us Shinobi from the Village. That is the right thing to do. They just can't accept us without knowing."

"Perhaps we can tell them that we were sent here by an ancient force to stop an evil that was the cause of all our despair" the Pinkette thought "If they ask for more information we can tell them some, but for the one we think we shouldn't share we'll tell them that it may interfere with their lives and decisions, and we don't want that to happen."

"Good idea Sakura-san!" Hamura said "That might do."

"But then, what not to say?" the Takishima asked. Once they were fully packed, they spent the rest of the night planning the revelation. They wouldn't tell about what happened to any of them, and also they would not mention Zetsu directly. For the Village's story they thought some things might be good to be shared, but they will see how everything developed. The big issue would be Hikari's inheritance of the Sharingan, she would tell them the truth about her Clan, but they had discussed if the truth about the Uchiha Clan should be shared, and sadly they had not reached an agreement. The only thing that they were sure to tell them is about the curse of hatred and the will of fire, the it was up to their free will.

* * *

It was the day before the inauguration and both Uchiha and Senju clans were moving to the new Village. Konohagure no sato. Hashirama and Madara stood proudly at the top of the Hokage tower, watching as their clansmen cordially greeted and some of them even helped each other.

"Tomorrow is the big day" Hashirama said pretty moved. Madara eyed him smirking.

"Oh you're an emotional fool you know?" he said and then laughed at His friends pouting. "Actually this is the big day, and tomorrow is the culmination of all our work." He corrected.

"You're right!" the Senju suddenly cheered up. "When will Ryuutaro-San and the girls be coming?"

"He said they'd be here by noon. It's like six hours walking from the Merchant Village to here. They would have to leave at dawn." Madara explained.

"Then today we'll continue helping our clans and tomorrow we'll wake early to prepare the ceremony" Hashirama said.

"Right my friend. See you tomorrow at dawn too." The Uchiha greeted him and jumped in direction to his compound. The Senju smiled happily at the vision of his youth dream coming true, and then jumped to his compound too.

* * *

With all the inauguration and moving's work Takato forgot to read the letter that Hikari had sent him two days ago. He felt bad, but he knew he would be seeing her soon and that thought made him smile inwardly.

"_Takato-san,_

_That's great news! We'll start packing right now, though we don't have many things… I feel a bit sad knowing we won't be writing each other anymore, but I'm also kind of relieved because I was starting to feel that our only way to communicate would be by letters. Can you imagine being next to each other but writing notes? That would be silly._

_We'll talk about everything, yours and mine stories pretty soon, don't worry._

_It's good to know you're bonding with Tobirama-san, that man surely needs a friend besides his brother. _

_I didn't know your Clan prohibited you to marry outside it. It seems so retrograde, but then again what can I say? It's only retrograde for me (joking)._

_Can't wait to be in Konoha!_

_See you soon (not reading you)_

_Kind Regards,_

_Hikari."_

He laughed hard when he read the 'retrograde' line. Of course it was like that for her, she was from the future for Kami's sake! He imagined that if he found her funny in her writing, it would be more interesting once they could talk without the limitation if the paper.

Madara also took his time to read Sakura's answer. He kept her letter with his belongings and decided to read it once his clan was settled so he would be calm and without any interruptions.

"Madara-san,

You would never understand what this letter means to me… We're going home.

I'm happy for you too, you all have suffered with all this war and Hashirama-san and you were the bravest to pull this peace out. You made me respect Uchiha more.

It will be my pleasure to teach civilians and shinobi medical jutsu, and I will be focused on that goal too, believe me.

You can write to me as much as you want, though it might not be necessary in two days, so see you soon! Congratulations on making your dream come true.

Kind regards,

Sakura."

For some reason, the Uchiha felt uneasy. His dream was coming true, and he had this feeling that still it might not be happening. He wouldn't admit it, but he was scared. It was not that he was having cold feet, but he was so close to his goal that he feared it might go away. He read the letter again and put those thoughts apart instantly. Sakura was the living proof that Konoha will last, and her words were conforting. He couldn't wait to see her the next day. Her presence seemed to calm him down and he didn't know why because he was obviously not having a crush on her or all that stupid things Hashirama used to imply.

* * *

It was the big opening day, and as Madara had said, the Merchant village people arrived at noon. He was waiting for them at the gates with his friend, wearing a large coat-like shirt over his regular casual outfit, and Hashirama was in formal clothing, with hakama, obi and also a white coak. They had decided not to wear armors to celebrate the halt on the battles.

The crowd of new villagers that was arriving was pretty big, but they were prepared. What they were not prepared to see was Hikari and Sakura walking on each of the flanks of the group wearing shinobi armors. They wore them proudly, and looked kind of fierce. The pinkette had a burgundy one matching her hair, and the brunette had a dark green one. They were so serious and maybe tense that Uchiha had to suppress a snort.

"Good mornig gentlemen" Ryuutaro greeted "Such a beautiful day for a dream to come true!". Madara thought it was indeed a nice day, because the sun was bright in the sky and there were no clouds to be seen around.

"Good morning to you too Ryuutaro-san" Hashirama anwered with joy "And good morning to all your people, please be welcomed to Konoha!" he added cheerfully. The Uchiha greeted everybody with a polite smile and a nod. His friend was the noisy one, perfect for the role of hosting. He saw Sakura from the corner of his eye and greeted her the same way but rolling his eyes a bit while Hashirama continued speaking. The girl shook her head and smiled at him in response. Somehow all of this fell right to him. The peace, the village, her in a shinobi armor. He left that train of thought and concentrated on Hashirama's words just in time.

"Please, join us inside the Village. Our people is waiting for you and ready to show you your district. You will find the Market where you can choose your shops and leave your goods. Then we'll show you your homes. Once you're settled please join us outside that big tower were the ceremony will take place in an hour." The Senju explained "Don't hurry to unpack, just leave your stuff so we can start celebrating" he clapped his hands and with a wave he made everybody follow him. The people was smiling and commenting Hashirama's cheerfulness and Madara sweat dropped. He stayed at the gate to wait to the last person to enter. Actually two people were last, Hikari and Sakura, that stayed on the flanks until everybody was in an safe.

"Hi Madara-san!" The Takishima greeted once the guards closed the doors behind them. "This looks amazing!"

"Hikari-san, Sakura-san" he said "Welcome home" Both girls held her breath at that sentence.

"Thank you Madara-san " the pinkette said bowing down, with her friend beside her doing the same.

"How was the Journey?" He tried to sound casual but he was still nervous for this day even though the Villagers had arrived.

"It was fine, the people was eager to come and nobody complained about the distance or about being tired" Hikari explained going full shinobi mode. "But we had people covering the flanks because we thought Hyuuga may do an ambush. We used the armors to intimidate, it was Ryuutaro-san's request" she smiled at the last line sweat dropping a little.

"We thought it was a little too much" Sakura intervened "But he wouldn't accept a no for an answer" she sweat dropped too.

"You look intimidating, he was right" Madara said smirking

"Shut up, don't mock us!" the pinkette said putting her hands on her hips looking at him playing offended. The Uchiha couldn't stop the snort this time. And suddenly they all were laughing.

"I'm sorry Sakura-san, but you looked so funny in that pose" he apologized once he calmed down. That laugh had made him release most of his stress and now he was feeling better. "Come on we don't want to be late." He added and led the way. Sakura shook her head again and smiled, she felt lighter too, and realized that she didn't feel nervous around him anymore. Her heart had pounded faster when she saw her, but she felt she could speak to him casually.

"Nervous?" she asked to him as they walked. She was at Madara's left, Hikari had put herself suspiciously on her left side, so she was left in-between them. The Uchiha was surprised by her question.

"Why do you think I'm nervous? I'm a grown up man" he asked feigning offense but both girls could see through that façade.

"Come on, this is an important day for everybody, and mostly for you" Sakura simply said "You don't need to pretend with us". He sighed. She was right, and had caught him.

"I was deeply nervous until recently, that is true" Madara said. "But after your reprimand I felt better" the pinkette was surprised about that but didn't show it. "It helped that everybody was safe and sound here but I still was stiff. I released tension with that laughter".

"Laughter is one of the best medicines in the world" Sakura said in a teacher way "You should laugh more"

"Noted, I will do that" he answered. The three of them continued walking and talking about the forest, the journey and the armors until they reached the tower. Once they arrived, people started gathering from everywhere and stared at them. Most of the clansmen that were on the last Uchiha-Senju battle recognized them and started to babble about the girls. They seemed happy to see them, Madara thought.

* * *

Meanwhile Takato was nearby speaking to Izuna when Ichigo intercepted him.

"Takato niii!" Ichigo run and almost tackled him with a hug

"W'oh Ichigo-kun you're getting stronger!" he managed to say gathering air with his lungs. He had felt the child but wasn't expecting that strength from him.

"I've been training!" the boy said "I want to be a great shinobi like Hashi-nii and you!" Izuna smirked eyeing his brother.

"Oh look how lovely, you have an admirer!" the youngest Uchiha said. His brother glared at him.

"It's good to know you're doing progress" Takato said to the boy while he was releasing him and ruffled his hair "Soon you'll be learning some cool stuff". Ichigo laughed and tried to fix his hair

"Oh don't mess with my hair, grandma will kill me" the boy said looking to the side with his cheek slightly pink. The youngest Uchiha seemed to realize that.

"Don't tell me.." Izuna said "Are you waiting to see someone special, maybe? Because I don't believe you're concerned about your grandma scolding you" The little Senju became red as a tomato.

"Shut up…" he said outraged.

"Is that true then?" Takato asked amused. Ichigo didn't want to look at him in the eye but nodded "Oh, well don't worry you look fine" he said kindly.

"Do you know when she's coming?" The boy asked and the Uchiha looked at him confused, so he added with emotion in his eyes "The frog princess!" Izuna looked from the boy to his brother not understanding.

"You mean Hikari-san?" Takato enquired surprised. That blush and embarrassment made sense now, he was waiting to see her. And it seemed that this little Senju had developed a tiny crush at first sight with the girl. The Uchiha ignored the sudden little void he felt in his stomach, and when he heard his brother snorting he prepared for the worse.

"OH! HAHAHA" Izuna laughed "This youngling has a crush on Hikari-san! Watch out brother he might steal her from you"

"You like her too?" Ichigo screamed surprised at the elder Uchiha

"Wait what!?" Takato exclaimed "SHUT UP Izuna! Ichigo calm down"

"Don't '_shut up'_ me mister, I'm not the one that exchanges mail with her every day" his sibling said offended. He was about to retort but was cut by Izuna "Oh there they come, wow that's cool!" Takato turned around and was surprised to see Hikari speaking with Sakura and Madara casually dressed in Shinobi armors. She looked so cool, he thought, like she was from his time. He felt the Senju arriving to greet them so he waited to show up and told Ichigo to stay put because he was about to run to her encounter

* * *

"Hikari-San, Sakura San!" Hashirama's voice came from behind them. He was escorted by Tobirama and Toka. "Welcome to Konoha"

"Thanks for having us here" Hikari said and they both bowed.

"Welcome" The albino said out of the blue and a bit out of character for him. He still seemed suspicious but he was obviously giving them a chance. Hikari nodded at him and remembered what Takato had said about the Senju. Speaking of the Devil, the latter appeared from the other side walking with Izuna.

"WOW girls you look stunning!" the Youngest Uchiha said. Both kunoichi became red as a tomato. "Oh come on don't be shy, those armors are awesome, don't you agree with me Toka-san?" he winked at her, leaving his siblings and Tobirama surprised by the familiarity.

"I was going to say the same thing but you beat me" The Senju said with a hand on her hip "we should totally go to that old tailor that created these babies. Do you know in what shop will be?" she asked Hikari, who shook her head "I sure want to be his first customer" When they mentioned the tailor Tobirama remembered that first day Toka and Izuna met the girls at the village and that ceased his surprise a little, but he was still suspicious about those two to being too friendly.

"Izuna stop embarrassing them, you're being mean" Takato scolded his brother, he was still mad with him because of his mocking. "Welcome you two, how was the trip?"

"Thank you! It was fine" Hikari answered, she was really happy to finally speak to him in person. She would be lying to herself if she said she was not waiting for him to appear. "I can't believe it's finally the day" she breathed. He smiled at her kindly, because he could feel the hidden feeling those words carried.

"FROG PRINCESS!" Ichigo appeared and hugged her almost tackling her too.

"Whoa kid!" she took him by his shoulders and moved him away a little to catch a breath and look him closely. "You are the picture of health!" she smiled "But please, call me Hikari, Frog princess seems weird"

"It's still better than Slug Princess" Sakura said bored.

"Don't blame me if your Shishou and you summon slugs" the Takishima mocked.

"You summon Slugs!?" the boy told the pinkette with a look of disgust in his face. "Gross"

"Be more respectfull brat, I saved your life" she crossed her arms and looked at him rising an eyebrow.

"Oh, you're my doctor! Aren't you?" Ichigo asked surprised. The pinkette noded feigning offense and he left Hikari's side to greet her. Standing in front of her he bowed and said politely "Thank you very much for saving me Slug Princess". Everybody laughed at Sakura's about-to-pop vein.

"No Slug Princess, just Sakura Boy!" she corrected him annoyed. The laughter increased and suddenly a shy voice came from behind them.

"Hikari-sensei?" Megumi had appeared looking for her sensei, she had lost her once they entered the Village. Hikari greeted her.

"Megumi-Chan, come here, don't be shy!" she said. Ichigo turned around and looked at the little girl astonished. She was very pretty, but he couldn't help to realize how she had called his Frog Princess.

"SENSEI?" he said "You're training her? I want you to train me too!" and he grabbed The Takishima's left hand. The girl looked at him angrily.

"Hey who are you and why do you want to steal my sensei from me?" Megumi shouted grabbing Hikari's other hand.

"I'm not stealing her, I saw her first" he said pulling her arm.

"How do you know? I come from the same Village as her" she retorted pulling her other arm. Hikaris pantience was wearing off so she sent a bit of electric chakra to her wrists and made the release her.

"Would you two stop!?" she reprimanded them. "You're going to pull my arms off" she calmed down and added "This is a very important day and you both should behave properly. You" she said pointing at Ichigo "as a part of the Senju Clan, and you" pointing at Megumi "as the Merchant Village Leader's granddaughter, and also my apprentice." Both kids lowered their heads ashamed. "Now apologize to me and to everybody here for the scene you just have made". The children apologized almost in unison, and all the grown-ups –well Sakura was not included because he knew her friend- were pretty impressed by her way to handle them.

"Ichigo Senju, this is Megumi Koji" Hikari introduced the kids and then spoke solely to the boy "Megumi is a civilian and she's just starting to acknowledge chakra so she needs time and dedication, therefore I can not train you, I'm sorry" the Takishima had crouched to the boys level and now was smiling to him "Do you understand?" she asked all anger gone from her voice.

"Yes, I do" he said still a bit ashamed. He looked to the little girl and said to her "I'm sorry I was so rude, you can spar with me whenever you want if Hikari-chan is busy" he extended his fist to her smiling shyly. Megumi didn't understand the gesture so she looked at her sensei.

"That is a shinobi greeting, he's acknowledging you" Hikari whispered. "If you're ok with that you bump fists with him". The girl nodded and then bumped her fist in his smiling shyly too.

"Thank you Ichigo-kun" Megumi said "I'm sorry too". The boy grinned. Hashirama, who was absorted in this tiny people's quarrel suddenly realized that the elders were waiting for them.

"Oh, my! It's time" He hurriedly said "We must start, everyone is gathered. Madara please come with me"

"I know what I have to do, don't boss me around" the Uchiha patriarch complained.

"I'm not…" Hashirama started but was interrupted by Tobirama

"Brother, he's messing with you." The albino said "You're too tense". The Senju leader sighed and looked both his brother and his friend.

"Okay, let's go. Shall we?" he tried to cheer up. The girls excused themselves because they had to be with Ryuutaro-san so they left with Megumi. Ichigo left to find his grandma and the Uchiha siblings went to stand by their brother's side.

* * *

"I, Senju Hashirama, Leader of the Senju Clan, am here to represent my people in this truce with the Uchiha Clan, formerly our enemies and now our friends. For my people I do speak because I have their consent, we surrender to a peace that will lead to a bright future." The Senju's words resounded all over the place. People held their breath because they were waiting for the other side's statement.

"I, Uchiha Madara, Leader of the Uchiha Clan, am here to represent my people in this truce with the Senju Clan, formerly our enemies and now our friends. I also speak for my people, we accept peace and we surrend to it too, with the compromise to defend it and become an example to our future generations" The Uchiha said deadly serious. He shook hands with his long time friend and everybody started to cheer and clap their hands.

The first part was done, the two leaders had sealed the deal with their people backing them up, each other standing in front of a pennant with their Clan's crest. All the Senju wore white overcoats and the Uchiha wore their casual outfit. They started to chat to eachother until the ceremony moved on. A new pennant was put in-between the Senju and Uchiha's that had a new symbol: a leave with a whirl inside.

"Now it's time for the official Inauguration of this New Village that will be your home from now on" Hashirama said smiling proudly "We invite Koji Ryuutaro, former leader of the Merchant Village, to Join us in this ceremony". Ryuutaro stood up and walked to them. They had a Scroll in which the Peace between clans, the merging with the Merchant Village and Konohagakure establishment was written.

"We hereby sing this treaty, to finely settle peace and shape the new Village, Konoha, our home." This time Madara spoke. The three leaders signed and now the whole audience applauded and acclaimed them. It was already afternoon.

"Konohagakure no sato is Officially established. Now it's time to celebrate!" Hashirama sad "Enjoy yourselves, socialize and settle down." Everybody was talking and moving through the square, sharing feelings and thoughts. It was still early to speak about the leadership but both the Senju and the Uchiha patriarchs were perfect for the role.

Sakura and Hikari couldn't believe it: they had been witnesses of their Village's creation. Once everybody was disseminated they moved through the crowd and finally the Takishima appeared next to Takato who was surprised to see her. Madara, Izuna, Toka, Hashirama and Tobirama were there too. The girls thought that this was the perfect moment to tell them something but couldn't say anything because the Leaders took them to their new home. It was a lovely two store house with two master bedrooms, a dining room with a small living room merged together, a kitchen and a bathroom. At the back of the house there was a small engawa and a beautiful garden with an orchard.

"We thought you may want to grow your own herbs" Madara said simply to Sakura who was astonished.

"That was very thoughtful, thank you!" She smiled so brightly that Uchiha couldn't say more.

"Hn.." Hikari said a bit anxious "we need to speak to you guys before you accept us in your home"

"Whatever you want to say to us can wait until tomorrow" Hashirama dismissed. "You must be tired and you need to eat, bath and rest."

"But this is important it's about what we've talked the other day" the Takishima kept speaking.

"We would like to tell you our story before you make us official as Shinobi from Konoha." The pinkette explained "We know you have already accepted us, but we need you to know more so we can share trust."

"Then tomorrow at 10 we'll meet at the Hokage tower, so you can share what we need to know and you want to say" Hashirama made a halt on the conversation. "Now we leave you to rest. You'll find supplies on the kitchen if you're hungry. It's already evening so you can eat and then get some sleep." He added cheerfully. Everybody left the house and while leaving Takato felt that Hikari's chakra was not at ease. It was obvious they needed to talk, but they would have to wait a few hours more. Once they left, the girls prepared something to eat and put the protection all over the house so nobody would feel Hamura. The Otsutsuki appeared for a little while and they filled him in with the events of the day because he may be inside the Takishima's body but he wasn't always pain attention.

That night Sakura slept like a baby, but her friend couldn't. She tossed and turned in her bed, and finally, she got up and left the house for a while.

* * *

The first night for Konoha was a chilly one. The winter was long gone, but it was a bit cold spring night. An Uchiha got up from his bed, because he wasn't able to sleep. Too much had happened during the last two weeks. He changed in some light clothing and wondered around the Uchiha compound. His footsteps somehow led him to the lake, and there he saw a figure of a woman looking at the surface almost captivated. It was Hikari.

"Can't sleep?" Takato's voice sounded softly in the silence. He walked to her and step at her side, but giving her space. The girl looked at him and nodded smiling faintly, she then returned her sight to the peaceful lake.

"Me neither" the Uchiha said. "It's been a long day full of hopes and emotions". Hikari turned to him and eyed him curiously when she heard him sigh loudly, but she still didn't say a word.

"I Wanted to thank you properly" the young man said again.

"Why is that?" she finally broke her silence.

"Because I do think that this could have not happened without you" he paused and then added "Sakura-san too, but mostly this is thanks to you" The girl was looking at him like he had grown a second head, so he continued "You stood against us, and told us in our faces the truth we've known for so long and ashamed us. And we couldn't stand to be accomplices anymore"

"I spoke without knowledge, and I judged you based only in what I saw" Hikari said lowering her head. "You created this peace, I did nothing but being rude".

"Yet, I feel that if you hadn't said that, this peace would have occurred later and would have had cost more lives" Takato retorted. She looked at him again, eyes wide open. "I know you don't feel like telling us your whole story, but trust us. We are not monsters" The heir smiled softly.

Hikari held The Uchiha's gaze for a bit and then turned to the lake again, with tears in her eyes and smiling sad.

"I used to train by this lake when I was little" she started "I came here to escape from all those Uchiha that hated me" Takato couldn't determine about what was she talking about, but didn't want to interrupt her. "They hated me because I was the representation of their biggest mistake, the face of their dishonor. I was supposed to be dead with all my clan, and I think that's what they thought every time when they saw me." She continued "Then I befriended the Heir, he protected me and taught me the Katon he was the first one that shared something with me. His best friend also protected me and became like a brother to me. But now they're all gone." She lowered her head "Everything is gone"

The Uchiha was still taking what she had said. Was she actually opening about the future? The lake, the Uchiha, the Heir. All of that obviously wasn't from this time. But she said they were gone, and that puzzled him.

Strangely, the silence that came between the two wasn't uncomfortable. In his mind, Takato decided to not to ask questions, maybe he'll scare her away. That could be done tomorrow, tonight he preferred to share something with her too.

"We used to be five brothers, you know?" the young man told her she eyed him "The youngest died because of an illness and the second to him was killed by Tobirama when I was twelve." He sighed and fixed his eyes on the lake. "He was ten… Suzumi. When he died I saw Tobirama's face, and he was scared. He was doing what he was being told. I hated that. I hated Uchiha even more than Senju. I hated Clans. That day my father brought Suzumi home with me, and we had a fight. That was the moment he broke my arm. I had said that Uchiha and Senju were the same crap. He lost it and snapped. Madara came and almost kills him, and I awoke my sharingan. Not for the loss of my brother, but because of the hatred I felt to my Clan." Hikari had moved and faced him surprised and was listening with attention. "I don't know what Uchiha have done to you in your time, but I can tell you that we're not like that. My father was, and so were some elders, but our people is kind and want peace, luckily I've realized that thanks to Aniki. We won't harm you. And I surely won't." with those last words he turned his head and looked at her with eyes full of emotion. She unintentionally blushed, his words were so passionate but yet they didn't feel like he was hitting on her or anything with double sense. He was being genuine, and that made her heart skip a beat.

"I-I know…" she whispered never leaving his eyes.

"Then change that look on your face" Takato said "You're home!" he grinned. Hikari turn around looking at the lake again so she could hide the tear that was rolling on her right cheek.

"We are." She answered "We truly are" after wiping the tear subtly she looked back at him and smiled broadly.

The Uchiha thought she had one of the cutest smiles he had ever seen, but he shook his head and said "Now we must get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. Go to your home and get some sleep".

"Hai sir" the Takishima said saluting with her right hand. They both laughed at that silliness. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then" she turned to leave but suddenly stood in place "And Takato-san…"

"Yes?" he asked curious.

"Thank you!" she looked back at him and beamed so much that this time he was taken aback.

"A-Any time!" he replied a bit shy. With that both left to their respective homes and fell in a deep and peaceful slumber.

***** AUTHORS NOTE*****

**I'm back! This was the heaviest month for me, so thanks' for the patience and sorry for the wait. It also didn't help that I had a lot of commitments to comply and that every time I had time to write I kept writing future chapters scenes. I have not checked this text, will do that tomorrow or I'm going to bang my head with my keyboard.**

**Konoha is here! Now the other good stuff starts. This was more like a Hikari-Takato chapter but don't worry, I have a lot of good stuff for MadaSaku (not lemon nor smut, sorry).**

**Thanks for the faves and follows!**

**Read you soon!**

**Bella Hikari**


	19. The real thing

**Disclaimer: I DO NO OWN NARUTO**

* * *

A knock on Sakura and Hikari's home was heard early in the morning. Fortunately they were having breakfast, and discussing yesterday's events. The Takishima got up to answer and was surprised to see Tobirama standing outside with his trademark serious look.

"Oh, good morning Senju-san" they weren't in first name basis yet. He was a damn untrusting person.

"Takishima-San" he nodded "My brother and Madara expect you both at the Hokage Tower in an hour" he was turning to leave, he had given the message and there was no point on staying to have a conversation.

"Hey Wait!" Hikari called, he stopped on his tracks and looked at her with the same plain expression. "Only them will be in the meeting?"

"That is correct" he answered and said nothing more. He sensed the woman had more to say.

"Is it possible that Izuna-San, Takato-san, Toka-san and you could be there?" she said a bit shy, he was really intimidating, it was the first time she had spoken so directly to the Nidaime since the 4th war, and to be honest that had been a pretty intimidating edo-tensei Nidaime too. Of course Tobirama didn't know that, and he was surprised she had asked for their presence in the meeting.

"I don't think that would be a problem, but I have to ask them" he replied never leaving his pose.

"Thank you…" Hikari said "… Oh please tell Kido-san too if it's okay with Madara-san and Hashirama-san. I want him to know our story too".

"Hn" he nodded again very Uchiha-like. He had not failed to notice that she spoke about everybody without their clan's name.

"Thank you Senju-san" she bowed. She looked like she was aware of him or that she didn't fully trust him.

He grunted and turned to leave again but stopped and without turning back to look at her he said: "I'm not an ogre Takishima-san. I just want to protect my brother and the Village."

"We want that too" she spoke back secure "that's why we told him the true, both him and Madara-san's trust in us deserve that." Tobirama had been searching through her chakra the whole conversation and he couldn't find any sign of lie or doubt in her words. Suddenly he felt some foreign chakra that seemed to be stored on a fuinjutsu. That was very suspicious for him, but yet she didn't seem to be hiding anything. She wasn't even hiding her seal.

"That's not the only trust you need to win and protect." He said scornfully and left.

Hikari looked at the empty spot in front of her and sighed. He had felt it, her seal. She felt him just for a second checking her chakra and she didn't hide anything. There was no point in doing that, because if so he would never trust them. Damn he was the best sensor Konoha will ever had.

* * *

Tobirama arrived on the tower where his brother and the three Uchiha were. He greeted them with a grunt.

"I've told them the message" the albino reported "and they have asked for Izuna, Takato, Toka and me to be at the meeting. The Takishima girl even asked for Uchiha Kido to be present." The Uchiha looked curious.

"Maybe she trusts him. You've seen how she was when he asked her about her sharingan." Hashirama said thinking out loud. "It was like she could open up to him. Is it okay with you guys?" The three Uchiha nodded.

"I'll send for Kido-san" Madara said and summoned his falcon and wrote a small note to the elder Uchiha.

"I'll go find Toka" Tobirama said and left the room.

* * *

When the kunoichi arrived on the brand new Hokage tower the three Senju and four Uchiha were waiting for them.

"Come in" Hashirama answered when the knocked on the door.

"Konichiwa" they said and bowed. The atmosphere was tense, so Toka thought it was okay to make a joke.

"Those are really nice clothing!" the kunoichi said "I like the way you adapted your own style to this era." Now they were dressed like people from their present, but they still kept their "future" essence. Sakura had a long Chinese-like red dress, with caqui pants and shinobi sandals. She looked like a 20 year old version of herself when she was twelve. Hikari had black long pants with shinobi knee length boots over them, and a green long sleeved keikogi. Over that she wore a long opened burgundy vest like his godfather used to. They were almost the same clothes she wore when they arrived, but they fit better and were more modest.

"Um… Thank you" Sakura replied. She knew Toka's intentions were good, but that made them feel more aware of the attention they were receiving. They closed the door behind them and the pinkette told their audience "Thank you for this meeting, first we would like to ask Senju-san if he can cast some protection jutsu." She looked at the albino with a determined look on her face.

"We also want to ask if you could and some muffler and sensor jutsu" Hikari added looking at Tobirama too. The mentioned nodded and proceeded to cast the best barrier he could do. They were smart, he thought. Asking him for that protection was a declaration of trust in his abilities. _'Nice move'_ he thought.

They all sat around a kotatsu that was placed with tea in the middle of the room. It was obvious that it was a provisional thing because there was a desk in the office, but since they have not decided on a leader yet they didn't use it. Hikari and Sakura sat on one side, in front of them were Hashirama and Madara. To the pinkette's left (Hashirama's right) were Toka and Tobirama being the latter next to his brother, and to the Takishima's right (Madara's left) were Kido, Izuna and Takato, this time the middle brother next to the Uchiha patriarch.

"Well, we hear you" Madara said serene. "Tell us about yourselves"

Hikari sighed and asked "Where to start…"

"Just tell us who are you, and why you are here" Tobirama said serious. Sakura stiffed a little bit, but then she sighed and started speaking.

"I'm Haruno Sakura, I'm going to be 20 years old soon. I was born in Konoha like 60 years or so in the future, and I'm an active elite Shinobi of the Village" she heard the gasps of everybody, it felt surreal to be explaining this stuff, but she continued "I'm a civilian born, my parents are shinobi though, but they went off duty when I was born, that's why I said I am not from a shinobi household, all I know I've learnt it at the academy and studying with my Shishou. We were related to a merchant family, but we don't really have a clan."

"I'm Takishima Hikari, soon to be 23 years old. I was born in Sunakagure no sato, another hidden Village, but my parents were from Konoha. I'm also an elite shinobi of the Leaf" This time Hikari spoke. She had continued over the questioning about another hidden village. That piece of knowledge made Hashirama happy to think that their idea will replicate, but also made Tobirama and Madara aware of the same thing. They looked to each other without even realizing, but knowing what they were thinking. "As I've told you, my parents left me when I was four years old, and I had recently found them a year ago. I am from two different clans, the Takishima from my mother's side, and the Namikaze from my father's side, two quite powerful clans of the Village long time ago, that now don't exist anymore, except from me and my cousin Naruto."

"Why do you have your mother's last name?" Toka asked curious. Not minding the interruption Hikari explained.

"I was born in Sunakagure because my parents were hiding from something that was chasing the Namikaze Clan, and my dad adopted my mum's Clan's name so that could divert the attention from me." She explained easily and felt relieved, that hadn't been so hard to tell. It seemed it had eased the Senju kunoichi's curiosity for a while.

"Okay, we know who you are, but why are you here?" The albino asked impatient.

"We were sent here by some kind of demigod to stop an evil that led us to the greatest war in shinobi's history and almost destroys the world." Sakura said simply. She had practiced this sentence for a while. Everybody looked at her like she had grown a second head.

"Do you think we're stupid?" Tobirama couldn't hold it anymore. "I still don't buy this 'we're from the future' story, and now you speak about deidities?"

"Hey, we know you're sensing our chakras, so you actually know we're not lying!" Hikari intervened a bit mad.

"That may be true but you're still hiding stuff, you're saying half-truths" the albino retorted.

"Okay, I'll prove your point." Hikari closed her eyes and continued "Hamura please come out" From her chest a light started to glow and then a caped white figure appeared in front of them. They all were in awe and the youngest Senju was trying to find the genjutsu, but there wasn't one. She really had her eyes closed and was not emitting any chakra signals.

"Good morning to everyone" the white figure said. He looked human but had two small horns that looked like rabbit ears. Everybody was taken aback with this apparition.

"Hey, I've felt you!" Takato exclaimed "The other time in the refuge, I couldn't see you though…" he explained. Hamura was a bit surprised that this human could feel him like that, he had felt he was sensitive that time too, but didn't expect that much.

"That was because I can make myself invisible and suppress my chakra signature" the man said "My name is Ōtsutsuki Hamura, please to meet you all" he smiled.

"Ōtsutsuki Hamura?" Kido san spoke for the first time "As in Ōtsutsuki the Rikudo Sennin?" Now everybody looked at him in disbelief.

"How do you know that was Rikudo Sennin's las name?" Tobirama harshly inquired the Uchiha.

"You should do more research on your Clan's history, boy" the elder answered putting the albino on his place. "The Uchiha have some ancient scrolls with legends and history. That's where I first read about Ōtsutsuki". The Senju was outraged but said nothing.

"That's right Kido-San, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki was my brother" Hamura said and seeing his surprised expression he added "I know all your names, because I was invisibly present on that meeting."

"Okay, that sounds fair I think." Kido answered. '_Creepy' _Izuna thought. "And may we ask why we have the honor to have you here with us?"

"These girls here were fighting with a descendant of mine on the moon…" he started

"The moon!?" Izuna and Tobirama exclaimed in unison "Come on…" But they were interrupted by the demigod as if nothing had happened.

"I found them on a temple and I realized their chakras could be the ones to stop an evil that had caused innumerable pain to endless amount of people in our history, so I sent them to the past". He explained.

"They have an unique chakra?" Madara asked surprised.

"Well, actually Hikari-chan does have an unique chakra." Hamura wasn't lying though "Sakura-chan has a perfect chakra control and medical abilities and they work pretty well as a team." The girls blushed a little with all this praising. Then Hikari remembered something.

"The seal you felt on my chakra today…" the Takishima told Tobirama "That seal hides that chakra." she was so serious and secure that the man didn't need to check her chakra for lies. Of course he did It anyway, he was a really paranoid person.

"Was that the reason of the Namikaze clan being chased?" Madara asked her, he was very clever. They all were, they were the founders for Kami's sake.

"Yes." She only answered.

"And was this evil thing the one that was chasing after them?" he asked again.

"You could say so." Hikari said again. The Uchiha remained silent.

"So, you girls are shinobi from a future Konoha that were selected by Rikudo Sennin's brother to save our world from an evil that almost destroys yours and was after Hikari-san and her Clan?" Hashirama resumed efficiently. Even Tobirama was surprised with his attitude, he was serious and analytical, he didn't look like his anija at all.

"That's pretty much the story" Sakura said nodding.

"But you said that evil almost destroys your world, does that mean he was already beaten there?" The Senju patriarch asked again, some things didn't add up to him. Hamura looked a bit nervous; they were cleverer than he had anticipated.

"Yes, but it had cost many lives, physically, emotionally and mentally" he explained "I thought that sending them to the past would change things, that they would have a better life. But actually it ended up opening another dimension and they can't go back anymore". Everybody was astonished that he had confess that openly. They looked at the kunoichi, and her expression were of defeat.

"You're stuck here" Izuna said absentmindly.

"That is a way to put it, yes" Hamura sweat dropped. Silence fell on the room; it was a lot information to take. Hashirama, as always, tried to lighten up the mood.

"Then the questions of who they are, when or where they are from and why they are here are answered." He smiled at the girls "Is there any other thing to talk about?" he asked to the present.

"I have a question to Hikari-san" Kido-san asked. She knew already what that question was, in fact that's why she had asked him to join the conversation, she wanted for him and the Uchiha for not see her as a threat. He looked at the girl and she nodded allowing him to continue. "Tell me about the Takishima clan" he said "How did you and your mother inherited the Uchiha's dojutsu?" There was a long moment of silence, Hikari looked at her friend and her brother and sighed.

"The Takishima clan is a descendant from the Uchiha Clan" Madara, Takato and Izuna held her breath. Kido didn't say anything but looked at her questionly. "Some years ago from this present of yours, a man called Takishima Uchiha was expelled from your Clan because he wanted to do some experiments to heal the Sharingan's blindness, he was sort of a scientist. He almost died by the hands of the Clan leader but someone found him on a river coast and healed him and his eyes. He started to wonder and save all the Uchiha that were given by dead on the battlefields and healed them and their eyes. Those healed people started to follow him and they created a community. They changed their Clan's name to Takishima to honor him, and to reject the Clan that had turned their back to them." Once she was finished the four Uchiha in the room were stunned.

"Aniki, wasn't that the man that Father said he had killed when we were little?" Izuna asked Madara.

"Yes Izuna-san" Kido answered "that was one of your father's biggest mistakes" he lamented. Hikari was curious now.

"Why do you say that?" Madara asked a bit surprised of the man expression.

"I was friends with Takishima" he said with sadness "He only meant good. He was very smart and powerful, so your father thought he might overtook his position. That was silly, he was older than me, and he wasn't even interested, he only cared for the Clan."

"Father was a very destructive person. Had I known earlier about this man, I would have tried to help him" Madara lamented. He really hated his father, he ruined everything.

"Well, Takishima Uchiha is supposed to be my great grandfather" Hikari said. "That's why I have the Sharingan, and also the reason I have an eternal Mangekyo without eyes being transplanted. He could fix that reproducing his cure." That statement surprised the Uchiha.

"Do you know healed him?" Takato asked.

"No, we don't." the girl said "That's almost all the knowledge I have from my Clan." There was a moment of silence and suddenly Hashirama almost choke with his saliva. Everybody turned to look at him.

"Anija?" Tobirama asked. Madara looked at his friend fearing what he was going to say.

"I-I think it was me…" The Elder Senju said.

"WHAT?" Everybody exclaimed in unison.

"How could you?" Madara asked "You're not supposed to be able to heal others with your healing chakra"

"He helped an Uchiha woman in the battlefield, remember?" Takato reasoned with his brother.

"Yes, but that's because Sakura-Chan explained to him how to pass chakra to her" the Uchiha Patriarch eyed his friend from the side.

"I was little" Hashirama started to explain "I believe this was before we knew each other. He kind of did the same thing Sakura-San did. I mean, he explained to me that maybe with my chakra I could help him. He said something about chakra coils in his eyes, and I only directed my chakra there. He didn't seem a bad guy…" the last thing he said it to his brother that was enraged.

"HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY HELP AN ENEMY!?" the albino shouted at him. "I always knew you were stupid, but you're always surprising me."

"Hey, I was a child, this was an old almost dead man that meant no harm!" Hashirama defended himself "I'm not going to turn my back to a fellow shinobi that was in need. He had been rejected from his Clan. He was alone by himself"

"That could had been a trap!" Tobirama exclaimed.

"Well, what's done it's done" The elder brother sentenced serious and a bit annoyed, Tobirama was taken aback by this attitude. There were only few times that his Anija behaved like the elder brother and had an authority aura. "I helped him, we never heard of him and his Clan until today, and he did no harm." Tobirama fell silent and in deep thought. Hashirama looked again at Madara and then the rest of his clansmen "I'm sorry I've never told you. We had both swore that we'll never tell to anyone, and with time I forgot about that. I'm sorry Madara". The Uchiha sighed, he wasn't really mad at him; it was odd hearing that even as a child he had helped one of his clansmen, even though he was kicked away from the Clan.

"I don't see the problem there. You did what was right for you" The Uchiha answered "We'll see how it develops and where things go in the future with that new Clan". The albino was still thinking and with Madara's words he thought about something.

"Takishima-san, you said your Clan lived in Konohagure, right?" Tobirama asked. "How did they co-existed with Uchiha?"

"They moved to Konoha fifteen years after it was founded. Takishima was dead, and the Uchiha that had 'converted' didn't tell anybody who they were since almost everybody didn't recognize them. They only said that they were descendants from Uchiha defectors" the kunoichi explained "but eventually the elders found out, and that's when the animosity begun" the atmosphere became suddenly dense.

"What happened?" Takato asked.

"I don't know for sure, I lived the first three years of my life in another Village, and when we moved to Konoha I never knew what was going on" the girl continued "My parents never told me anything or spoke badly about the Uchiha. In fact they were friends with the Clan's leader and his family, until that day…" Her voice was a bit shaky, she made a pause and didn't continue.

"Until what?" Toka enquired.

"My Clan's massacre when I was four" Hikari sighed and looked down. The silence became longer and deeper. The Senju kunoichi felt bad for her, she remembered what she had told them on their first meeting. Takato remembered their conversation near the lake the night before. She had said she had been the face of their dishonor, that only meant…

"It was our Clan, wasn't it?" The middle Uchiha sibling asked leaving two astonished Madara and Izuna "Our clan killed yours, that's why you told me yesterday that they hated you because you were the representation of their biggest mistake. You were not supposed to be alive either." She opened her eyes widely and felt them grew hot. Sakura put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"It's okay, I can tell them this part" she reassured her. Hikari nodded because she didn't trust her voice. She didn't want to cry again, she was going to take some time to regain her composure.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude" Takato whispered feeling a bit ashamed.

"Don't worry, she's not mad at you. She's just being sensitive as I am" the pinkette said "it's hard for us to be here and tell you all of this." Madara looked at her and nodded.

"Please continue, Sakura-san" the girl nodded too.

"I only know the story because my parents told it to me what happened in the Village, and later Hikari-chan filled the blanks with the inner side of it." She warned "The day of the massacre her parents were intercepted by the Uchiha Clan's leader who had found out that some of his clansmen were plotting to put an end to the 'thieves of the Sharingan' as they called them. He first tried to reason with them and they seemed to have regained their senses, but that was a trick. Fortunately Uchiha-san was smarter than them and kept an eye on that group. When he found out the truth he went directly to Hokage-sama and confessed what his piers were up to."

"Hokage-sama was my uncle, my father's brother" Hikari interrupted, she was alright now, a bit emotionless for Takato's liking though. "The Leader helped my parents and arranged with them that I would stay with my Uncles until everything was fine. He helped them escape from Konoha, but it was too late for the rest of our Clan. They killed everybody."

"I knew Uchiha was a rotten Clan…" Tobirama spat with hatred.

"Hey shut up, idiot" Izuna reacted "Those were not even us, it was in the future, we would never slaughter a Clan out of envy. Not even yours that used to be our enemies" Tobirama was about to reply but Hikari looked at him with anger in her eyes.

"I think the problem was not actually the Uchiha Clan per sé, but a deficient way of Village leadership." She said in monotone. "My Uncle was very busy because we were at war at that time, but the previous leaders had not treated right the whole Sharingan users deal. They put them all together to see what would happen; they didn't meddle because they didn't trust them. That aside, there was a psycho council man obsessed with our dojutsu and who we later discovered had plotted with the group of men that killed the people and collected the deceased's eyes." Toka's expression was pure horror.

"How could someone steal a corpse eyes, that's just wrong" she said desperate. "What the hell happened in your time that people would do that to their comrades?"

"That evil force was the one that fed on the peoples negative emotions and led them to commit those atrocious acts" Hamura explained calmly.

"That may be true, but not with him. He was only envious he could never made it to Hokage, and he was also envious of Uchiha" Sakura intervened.

"Anyway, as I said, it was not an Uchiha thing. The perpetrators were caught and they were only 8 men, so it was definitely not a Clan thing." Hikari stated. "They were judged and If recall right they were sentenced to death for treason to the Village."

"And what happened with our Clan?" Madara asked "How did it cope with that?" Hikari's eyes went wide.

"I don't believe we should tell you more about the future" the pinkette suddenly said "You don't need to know."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think you get to decide that Sakura-san" the patriarch scolded her. She looked at him offended

"Yes I do. It may influence your actions, and we don't want to mess things up more than we already had" she retorted.

"Mess things up?" Madara asked raising his voice a little "How did you mess things up? Everything is going fine, the Village is formed and both Clans are in peace and safe!" Sakura was speechless, he was right.

"I-I… you may be right…" She said "But it's not ethic. You may have an advantage, and that also may create another future that could be disastrous!"

"Or that could be just fine." He sentenced "You don't know that, is our decision." He looked at the other Kunoichi and said "Please, Hikari-san, tell us what happened with our Clan."

"I-I don't think that…." She debated to tell it.

"Hikari-san" Takato called, she looked at him nervous "I don't think you being here is a coincidence you know? And I think I already know what you think you have messed up" Everybody looked at him curious "We were supposed to die in that battle, am I right?" The girl's eyes couldn't get any more wider. "I mean, Izuna and me." Seeing everybody's faces, he decided to elaborate "I have an ability that allows me to follow chakra into the near future, I use it some days before any battle. First I couldn't feel Izuna, then I couldn't feel anybody. Suddenly the day before that battle that changed, I felt Izuna and everybody again. And I also felt two new chakra that I didn't know where they had come from. Now I know, It was you." He made a pause and continued "You arrived one day before the battle..."

"That's true…" The pinkette said

"Then, the battle had not yet happened, and I felt everything again. We were going to be saved. Fate had been twisted." Madara's realization hit him hard.

"You mean that they were meant to save you?" he asked his brother and then looked at Hamura "You did that on purpose?"

"No, I could not feel the exact time to do that. I only sent them here, and they arrived on that Village." The Ōtsutsuki said. He had had another agenda in mind and now he was realizing he could have really messed things up if he had sent them late. "They didn't even know what was happening, so you might say that it was a new destiny forged to them too."

"I'm sorry, I still don't get it" Hikari said a bit pissed.

"What I'm trying to say is that you arrived one day earlier from the battle" Takato spoke to her directly "You could have gone everywhere during your encounter with the Hyuuga, but you arrived on our battlefield, between Tobirama and us. He would have probably killed us that day, but that didn't happen, and it was because of you." The Albino felt a bit of discomfort with the Uchiha's words. It felt weird to think he would have killed them. And what felt weirder was that he was ashamed to admit that he really would have.

"So.." this time Sakura spoke, she was doing some really deep thinking.

"So, you were meant to mess things up. It wasn't your fault. You saved us and in a way you anticipated the truce, I believe" the Middle Uchiha said, the girls nodded absentmindly. "So, please tell us about our Clan, It may fix another problem." Hikari looked at Sakura and then at Hamura.

"Um, okay. We will tell you." The brunette said. She took a deep breath and started "There's something I did not say about the day my Clan was murdered" everybody was expectant on what she was going to say "As I said, I was left with my uncles when my parents left. The thing is my aunt was pregnant with my cousin Naruto. She was the nine tails jinchuriki and my uncle had a safe house prepared for her to give birth because her seal would be weaken. My uncle mastered fuinjutsu so he would keep control on it. Some hours later that day my aunt went into labor and we moved to the safe house. When we were there, a masked man appeared and killed everybody except us, Naruto had just been born and he took him and menaced to kill him too. My Uncle had to grab him and use his teleporting technique to escape but that choice made him leave us alone. The masked man teleported my aunt and me to a place, chained us and he extracted the beast from her. That same night Konoha was attacked by the Kyuubi." The group was silent, nobody dared to speak. "My uncle arrived and saved us, leaving my aunt, Naruto and me in the safe house again. He fought and beat the masked guy and teleported the Kyuubi far away from Konoha with Hirashin." She could hear Tobirama's gasp so she stopped and looked at him waiting.

"That technique…" the albino said

"It's yours." Hikari cut his speech. "That's why I know it. I had seen my uncle doing it, but it wasn't until I found a scroll and was older enough that I could learn it"

"For him to teleport himself and the most powerful tailed beast is just… impossible." Tobirama said thinking out loud.

"Minato-oji-san was the most powerful ninja in his time." She said smiling sadly, but full of pride. "The point is that he could isolate the Kyuubi but he attacked again our shelter so he had to teleport us again to a clearing in the middle of a forest. He was near chakra depletion. The beast find us and the last thing I remember is that both my aunt and uncle were taking care of Naruto and planning what to do. Then it all went blank."

"How is that so?" Hashirama asked. He looked like he was hearing a horror story.

"It seems I lost my senses and in an act of full rage tried to attack the Kyuubi." She explained, they didn't need to know the real truth even though she wasn't lying. "Anyway, he hit me and I passed out. I woke up in the hospital in a bedroom with my cousin besides me. My uncle and aunt had died protecting us and sealing the beast inside Naruto." Toka sobbed hard. Kido's eyes were moist. The rest was deeply silent, until the albino decided to say something.

"I'm really sorry to hear what you have experienced, but why is that related to the Uchiha?" Tobirama asked. Hikari understood his point.

"My mind was read by the intelligence department since I was the only witness alive that could understand what was going on" she said "the masked man had a hole in his mask and you could see his eyes…" she stopped. Madara shifted in place.

"He had the sharingan" he continued the Takishima's sentence. "It is said that our dojutsu can control the tailed beasts because is the same Rikudo Sennin had. Am I right?" he added looking at Hikari and then to Hamura. The Ōtsutsuki nodded.

"Our shinobi knew that the sharingan could control the Kyuubi, and with my memories they confirmed it." Hikari said. "If you add that to my clan's massacre, people didn't trust Uchiha anymore"

"What did the authorities do?" Kido san asked.

"Nothing" Sakura intervened. "Apart of the massacre's perpetrators judgement, the Clan was left to be, because they fought defending Konoha from the beast. But it was highly mistrusted." Tobirama snorted.

"I keep saying that you were not to be trusted" he had his arms crossed and was sarcastically smiling. "This is a bad Idea, to form this village with you people". Before the four Uchiha said something, Hikari spoke.

"That's the idea that triggered Konoha's almost downfall" she said with an angry voice.

"What!?" the albino exclaimed

"That idea 'Don't trust Uchiha, they are bad, or just ignore them'" she mocked "That egotistical way of thinking ruined everything. If someone could have really committed to the village looking further from his bellybutton a lot of things could have had not happened."

"So what do you suggest?" Tobirama said. It had become a two people conversation.

"I don't know" she shrugged "but if you mistreat people and don't even try to speak to them, to reason with them, they rebel. They ended planning a coup de tat"

"SEE!" the younger Senju exclaimed "That proves my point, there's no good in Uchiha"

"NOR IS GOOD IN A LEADER WHO SENDS A THIRTEEN YEAR BOY TO KILL HIS ENTIRE CLAN" Hikari exploded knocking the table with her fists. Everybody gasped, what had she just said? She inhaled and calmed down. "You weren't there, you don't know what happened." She sounded hurt, her voice was shaky again.

"Hikari-san, please calm down." Madara tried to sooth her. "Can you explain what you have just said?"

"I'll do it" Sakura answered him to give her friend some time to recover "Since the Hokage and his wife died on the Kyuubi 's attack, and the massacre had happened the same day, people in Konoha started to mistrust Uchiha. Years went by and they started to plan to overcome the current Hokage because they were left apart in almost everything related to the Village. They were even being watched. Suddenly one day the Uchiha heir killed his entire Clan, sparing the life of his little brother. He escaped and was marked as a traitor." She stopped talking because she knew it was a lot to take to her listeners.

"Our entire clan… wiped by one man?" the Patriarch said in disbelief.

"We knew the truth lots of years later, but at that moment it seemed that Itachi-kun had lost his mind." Hikari explained a bit hurt "He was my best friend, and a genius for his age."

"What was the truth?" Hashirama asked, he had a bad feeling about this. Tobirama was still upset and maybe a bit ashamed, but he was also intrigued.

"The truth was that Itachi-kun was sort of a double agent for his Clan and the Hokage. He was ordered to spy on his clan. At the end of the day, the Village was his top priority. He tried to reason with his father but there was no hope for them, they were too damaged. His father used to be a good man." The Takishima explained.

"You need to understand that there are two sides of chakra and Nindo. The will of fire is the will of the Village. To protect the village and therefore it's people, to seek for peace." Sakura described "But there also is a dark side, called The Curse of hatred. Uchiha tend to be more adept to it because of their dojutsu. The Sharingan is linked to emotions, and once they turn to hatred it's difficult to repel."

"The Hokage and the Council ordered Itachi-kun to kill his entire Clan and leave the Village to infiltrate in a renegade shinobi association. He made a deal that nothing would ever happen to his little brother in exchange." The Takishima looked at her hands that had turned into fists and her eyes watered again "That idiot thought it was okay to take all responsibility by himself." Takato looked at her concerned. It seemed that boy was very important to her.

"So the Uchiha Heir killed his Clan under the Hokage's order?" The albino finally said "That seems too extreme" Everybody looked at him surprised. "What?" he asked annoyed.

"Aniki, it doesn't sound like something you would say after all what you have said, don't be mad" Hashirama said. Tobirama moved his head aside crossing his arms again.

"Listen, I might not trust or like Uchiha, but I'm not a monster. I need to know something" he looked at the pinkette "I'll ask this to you because it's not your Clan that was involved." She nodded "Did the Hokage try to do an approach to the Uchiha, did he confronted them? Or he just ordered a suicide mission on a boy?" The kunoichi swallowed hard.

"There were no records of an approaching to the Clan." Sakura said "For what we know, Hokage sama and the Village Council preferred to 'eradicate the rotten apple' as it was written on the Village records" his eyes widened when she finished.

"Does the term sound familiar?" Hikari mocked. "If you still want to know, that Hokage happened to be one of your students." The look in the albino's face was of pure awareness.

"Hikari-chan!" Sakura scolded her "You've said to much!"

"I know" she answered bitterly to her friend "but he needs to know how much damage an idea can do. And you know better than I that we're not even telling everything in detail." She was angry. With everybody. She wanted to finish this conversation now. The pinkette sighed.

"We won't say any more stuff about this, nor the conflicts in our Village and our last war." Sakura said firmly "This is all the political information you will get from us, so I suggest to you to think of other stuff to ask, and to decide if we are worthy of live here as Villagers and Shinobi."

"There's no need to be this serious Sakura-san" Hashirama said trying to enlighten the mood. "I believe we know enough of your pasts, even though there must be a lot more to it. I don't know about the others, but I still want you to become a part of this Village, of this family" he smiled brightly and then his expression fell a bit "I am deeply sorry about what happened to you, your Clan, the Uchiha and your friend Hikari-san. I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening" he added solemn. Both girls smiled at him. "Konoha will always be your home no matter what. Madara, what do you think?" The Uchiha patriarch took a moment to answer. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes thinking. Then he looked at his siblings, and Kido and sighed.

"We'll probably want to know a little bit more about everything you've said" He started, and continued immediately before any of them could retort "not now, and not much. Only the important parts, or to clarify doubts. You have to understand this is a lot to take for me, for us. I know we only want peace, what I don't know is what happened for things to go so badly. And I believe you're not going to tell us about that"

"We really don't know all the details, it was before we were born and lots of stuff was badly written in our history books." Sakura said.

"I believe you, you don't have to tell me" he reassured the pinkette and then got serious "but I need you to promise to us that you will do anything in your power to prevent what happened for happening." Both girls looked each other and nodded.

"We promise we will protect Konoha and all of you with our lives" she said. Madara was impressed by Sakura's words, she was honest and fierce. For the first time in the whole conversation he remembered that feeling that was growing inside him, and stopped his mind from sailing away. This was not the time.

"Perfect" he managed to say " then I Believe I speak form my siblings and Kido-san here too, that you're welcome to the Village by the Uchiha." He smirked at their faces of joy.

"Hn" Tobirama cleared his voice "I believe the best way to keep an eye on you is to have you in the village, since you may have a lot of knowledge and it would be stupid to let you go with it." Everybody rolled their eyes at him and Hashirama was about to protest when the albino continued "I'm deeply sorry that my future actions may have led to your Konoha's almost downfall. Kami this is the strangest sentence I've said" he said the last part in low voice like an afterthought and sighed. "You have to know that I'm a forward person and I would have never put the burden of anything that big on a boy, no matter how stronger or genius he is. If anything happens here I will confront it directly."

"I know that" Hikari said looking at him straight in the face.

"I don't want you to hate me or think I am a monster Takishima-san." Tobirama kept speaking and addressed to the whole room "You all know I hate Uchiha. But to be fair, I don't feel hate anymore. I still don't like your Clan, but now I know that we are not really that different" he looked at Takato, who smiled weakly at him. "I can't promise you we will be friends, but I will tolerate and be civilized with everybody. I am aware that the hate me too"

"They don't hate you" Izuna surprised everybody with his interruption. "They just know you as 'The Senju that killed one of the little heirs', that's why. They don't think of the background, on how our people killed yours. Once the village is settle they'll get to know the real you." He made a pause and then added "which is very obnoxious and childish by the way" The albino's vein popped out and he exclaimed "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" but the youngest Uchiha started Laughing and answered "oh, come on, relax a little. It's too easy and so funny to make you anger! "

The mood had lightened a little so both Clan Patriarchs stood up and formally welcomed the new Konoha Kunoichi. The rest followed and stood up too.

"So, Sakura-san, Hikari-san," the Senju said with arms opened "Welcome home!" Madara sweat dropped. The girls giggled and thanked bowing.

"I don't know you guys but I'm starving! It's way past noon! " Toka exclaimed "Why don't we go eat something she said to her now officially fellow kunoichi.

"That would be awesome" Sakura said.

"Okay we are free to go then!" Hashirama said and nodded to his brother who was about to undo the protection jutsu but stopped when the elder continued speaking. "What are you going to do Hamura-sama?" he asked to the Ōtsutsuki.

"Well, now that you know me and I'm here I can stay using a Henge as a person separated from Hikari-chan's chakra." He explained "Only if she's running low I will go back inside her chakra paths." He smiled to his imouto and said "you're free of me being a burden. Please eat well and keep your chakra up"

"You should probably pass by a sibling of mine" Sakura suggested. That way you can live with us, but won't complicate things with the Uchiha, if you passed as Hikari-chan's brother".

"That will do" Hamura said "may I borrow some clothes?" The presents looked at him weirdly. "I can't henge clothes!" he explained "this are part of my chakra!" some almost fell backwards. Takato gave him a scroll with some clothes: a pair of black pants, a pair of black shinobi sandals and a black long sleeved shirt.

"Why do you always have clothes scrolls with you?" Hikari asked entertained and the Uchiha blushed a little uncomfortable. Izuna laugh hard and elbowed on his ribs.

"Aniki you're embarrassed" he mocked.

"Shut up, idiot." He answered. Meanwhile Hamura put the clothes over his astral form and transformed into a young 25 years old man with pink slightly lavender hair and dark green eyes. He was tall and even resembled Sakura a little.

"We're ready to go now!" he exclaimed. "Oh, my name will be Matsu. Hamura might be suspicious"

"So you're Sakura's long lost brother that appeared in the Village today. How's that?" Toka said.

"Good alibi" he remarked.

"And what will we do about Hikari san?" Takato asked his clansmen.

"What about me?" she asked.

"You having the Sharingan" he explained "people will start to speak".

"We should tell everybody that she is descendant of Uchiha deflector two generations back." Kido san said "this way nobody will dig on her past and she can say the truth. She almost didn't know her family. What do you think?"

"I think I can do it" she answered "But please, let me keep my last name" Kido looked at Madara who allowed it.

"Of course darling!" Kido said.

"Are we done?" Tobirama asked impatient. When Hashirama said it was okay he proceeded to turn down the jutsus. "Speaking of last names…" he suddenly said "Haruno-san, Takishima-san, feel free to call me by my name. I mean, it's silly and suspicious that you both have that familiarity with all this people and not with me"

"You're really obsessed with suspicion" Sakura said with plain face. The vein popped again from the albino head. "Just Kidding! " the pinkette laughed " You can call us by our names too." The senju looked at both kunoichi and nodded seriously.

"Done" he said. Everybody decided to leave the office and went to the merchant spot, where the restaurants were being established.

*****Author's note*****

**Finally finished this chapter! I had to change my computer so this took me more time because of that. Thanks for the faves and follows. PRETTY PLEASE leave a nice review pleeeeeeease!**

**This was one of the heaviest chapters to write but now the slow burn story takes place.**

**Read you soon! xXxX BElla**


	20. An interesting meal

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Sakura and Hikari talked while walking with Toka leading the group and the men were following behind. Kido-san had left to speak with the council about Hikari being related to Uchiha some generations back, and Hamura disappeared and said that he would better appear the next day as a wanderer so no one would be suspicious.

Takato was lost in thought as Madara and Tobirama were listening vaguely to Hashirama's continuous ramble about how good everything was going to be and how nice the merchant district will be when finished. Izuna realized that his middle brother was spacing out so he talked to him.

"Ryo for your thoughts" the youngest said smiling.

"Hn?" his brother 'Uchihaly' answered.

"What are you thinking of?" Izuna continued, "You seem distracted."

"It's a lot to process" Takato simply said. They spoke in a low voice because they didn't want anybody to hear.

"Is it a problem for you that she comes from the future?" his brother whispered barely audible next to his ear. A shiver came down his spine.

"WHAT?" the middle Uchiha asked surprised and blushing. Everybody stopped to look at him, as he became redder. Madara was about to ask something but his little brother interrupted.

"I'm just mocking him because he couldn't beat me last spar" Izuna explained smiling as he grabbed his sibling from the neck. The Kunoichi looked at them and smiled.

"You're impossible!" Toka said to him and he blushed a little. "We're all hungry, just leave your brother be until we get some food, would you?"

"If you keep thinking about eating you won't be able to fit your armor anymore" He teased the Senju.

"WHY YOU….!" She started but Hashirama intervened

"Oi, you guys, this is such a joyous day, don't spoil it with this childish attitude" he scolded both. Madara and Tobirama rolled their eyes. Speaking of childish people… The Kunoichi hmped and the girls laughed and continued walking and talking. Izuna, who was as red as Takato by now, rolled his eyes at the Senju and continued speaking with his brother.

"Come on, you're interested in her, I can tell." He said.

"How can you tell, We've only known each other for a little time and barely spoke in person three or four times" Takato answered as he moved his otouto's arm from his neck.

"You've exchanged a lot of letters, and you smile when you read them. I've seen you…" the youngest said,

"Shut up idiot" his brother said bored. "Why don't we speak about you, is it a problem that SHE is a Senju?" he asked mockingly.

"W-WHAT!?" this time was Izuna whom shouted and blushed. Madara turn to them exhausted and again was about to say something but Ryuutaro San appeared greeting them.

"GOOD AFTERNOON TO EVERYBODY!" He exclaimed a bit too cheery to the Uchiha Patriarch's likeness. Hashirama as always beamed with another person's joy. They greeted the man as he continued "I bet you're here for eating, am I right?"

"Hi Ryuutaro San, yes we are" Sakura answered "Is there any spot ready at least to provide us some food? We come from a very long meeting and we forgot lunch." She asked apologetically.

"Of course there is my blossom!" The old man said cheerfully. Madara's left eyebrow twitched a little at this man's familiarity with the pinkette. Tobirama didn't fail to see that, but kept it as a secret. He thought he may have discovered a possible flaw in his former enemy. "We have a small dinning at the end of the road, my son is cooking there until the other posts are ready, please come and join me"

They all walked following the man, who was now telling Toka about the wonders of cooking. Hikari and Sakura started to walk a bit slower, taking the scenery. It brought them lots of memories. Suddenly the Takishima stopped to look to a group of people working on a shop. Her pinkette friend understood why and let her be, resuming her walking and talking with Izuna. Takato realized her action too.

"What is this post going to be?" he asked to her casually. She was surprised by his words, she hadn't realized that she had been spacing out.

"An important place…" She answered taking a deep breath. He looked at her curious. "A Ramen shop" she smiled. The Uchiha deadpanned, how could a Ramen Shop become an important place? The kunoichi seemed to notice because she elaborated "We used to hang out with Naruto here every day. He was a ramen addict. His nutrition was very poor, I don't know how he became the strong ninja he was though." The young man chuckled about that. Of course this place was important; it was full of memories for her. He heard her sigh. "We should get going or they are going to eat our food!" she added trying to sound more cheerful, but somehow he could see through that façade.

"Yeah, right" Takato answered compelling and then added "Please go ahead, I forgot something at the building" he looked at her apologetically. She felt his words and action were odd, but maybe he had forgotten money or something important so she nodded and run to catch up with Sakura and the others. Once she was gone the Uchiha walked to the building in question.

"Excuse me mister, good day!" he politely asked to one of the workers. The worker greeted him with respect; he had realized he was one of the Uchiha who had received them earlier. "What is this post going to be of?"

"Oh, this is going to be a Ramen restaurant" the man answered kindly.

"Sounds delicious, do you know when it is going to be ready to serve public?" the Uchiha asked.

"We hope it will be finished in a month" the worker said. "We're building the structures for all the shops in a traditional way, we can't use ninjutsu. Also we want to do a big opening of the district altogether as a thank you for your family and the Senju" He didn't want the Uchiha lord to think they were lazy.

"That sounds wonderful" the shinobi said "It's not a shame to do things in a traditional way in spite of being shinobi able to mold wood. For me, this gives the construction more value." He smirked to the smiling worker and added "My brother and Hashirama-san are always showing off their skills, but is refreshing to see people working hard. This Village will sure have a great future."

"Well, we're honored by Uchiha-san's words" the man said and bowed, his coworkers did the same.

"No need to bow" Takato said waving his hand. "Thank you very much mister, we'll sure come to eat some ramen" he added "I won't interfere with your chores any longer. Have a nice day"

"Oh, you too Uchiha-San!" was his answer.

Takato left the place and waited a little to appear at the dinning. All of them were already being served and some had started to eat.

"Here Taa-kun, I saved you a plate!" Izuna said to his brother, who was surprised to see him smirking. Then he realized that it was because he had left a spot between him and Hikari. What an obnoxious boy! He thanked him looking at him as he was going to regret it later, sat on his spot and ate trying hard not to blush. Izuna was being silly; he was not interested in the Takishima girl, not the way he implied anyway. They had barely spoken, and didn't know much from each other. Nobody can like someone so fast, it was silly. Thankfully his thoughts were interrupted by Ryuutaro San.

"Nee Hikari-chan, Sakura-chan" the man said out loud. He was really familiar with the girls but they didn't seem to mind. "My grandchildren told me that they are training together now, how is that coming?"

"Right! You have two cute little students! Tell us about them" Toka said happily.

"Well, they will be training together for a while until everything is settled down with the Hospital and stuff" the pinkette explained. "I believe in a week we will be resuming our standard training."

"That would make them happy, all they talk about is that they want to become Shinobi and save people." Ryuutaro smiled kindly "you both have been quite inspiring for them. I will always be in debt with you". Both Kunoichi blushed a little then Sakura continued.

"Any way, it's also important for them to increase their physical strength with this training. As a civilian if you're not strong enough it gets very difficult to become a shinobi." She said "For me, for example, it was really hard. And my first teacher never bothered to teach me anything else than to climb trees and walk on top of the water with chakra. He didn't even bothered to teach me nature chakra" she rolled her eyes. Kakashi sensei had been quite lazy with her.

"You don't have Chakra Nature?" Madara asked surprised. He was sitting in front of her in the long table. Sakura blushed a little because she felt little. The great Madara Uchiha asking that… she sighed.

"I have Chakra nature, but I have not trained it, so I don't know any jutsu" She sounded defeated.

"Which is your chakra nature if I may ask?" the Uchiha said. Man, was he joking with her?

"I-I" She Started trying her best to not to get mad '_SHOW THAT BASTARD THAT YOU CAN!' Inner SHUT UP! _She thought. "I have earth and water" she answered firmly. The Uchiha nodded serious.

"If you are okay with it, and if you want to, I can teach you some techniques" Madara said simply surprising everybody. "What?" He asked to his audience.

"Nothing!" Hashirama was the only one to speak "It's just odd for you to offer to teach someone something, that's all" he said the last part a bit dubious because he could see his friend's angry expression, as he became red (He could not tell if that blush was because of the anger or something else).

"The hell you think about me?! I can teach anything to anybody if I want to!" Madara shouted to the Senju and everybody sweat dropped "I offered because I happened to have the same Chakra Natures and I believe it's awful for a teacher not to do his job properly. Medic Jutsu might be awesome but she needs some other techniques to defend herself" he said the last part crossing his arms in front of his chest and closing his eyes trying to get his cool back.

"I've been doing fine without them, thank you very much" Sakura said sarcastically and a bit angry herself too, he made her feel weak again. He opened his eyes hiding his shock through his façade.

"I didn't mean to offend you… I" The Uchiha started but she seemed to notice his embarrassment because her tone lowered and she added.

"I'll think about your offer, I've always wanted to learn nature related ninjutsu. The problem is we don't have time right now" she looked at Hikari who nodded, the Uchiha felt a bit relieved. "Thank you Madara San, I promise you I'll tell you if I want to learn other ninjutsu" she smiled softly. Madara was lost in her eyes but just for a millisecond because Hikari helpfully intervened.

"We need to start working in the Hospital as soon as possible" the kunoichi said getting everybody's attention...

"I can work there till it's settled" Sakura said, and the meal continued flowing as if anything had happened.

"You'll need help" Izuna said this time "You can't do everything all by yourself". Again the pinkette felt useless but her friend, knowing her so much, stepped in again and said.

"He's right Sakura. You're way too capable, but I won't let you pull a 48 hours shift again. You'll kill yourself." Hikari reprimanded her; the Senju and Uchiha were pretty surprised at her statement.

"You've worked 48 hours without resting?" the youngest Uchiha asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I sometimes did that" Sakura answered a bit embarrassed, she was not an idiot she knew that that was not okay, but it was also her ninja way. And she was thick headed when she wanted to.

"And you did that in a Hospital where lots of fully trained people worked whom also where fine without your help for some hours, you really are obsessed" The Takishima shot her friend back.

"I know, I know… that was awful and idiotic, Shishou told me so too." The pinkette said apologetically "But here there are no fully trained people, and I need to work all day long until we have some decent doctors".

"I can work on the afternoon/night shift, so you can rest. I know the basis of Medic Ninjutsu, plus my senjutusu, I can be of help" Hikari said, she saw Sakura was about to complain and added "Of course if there's an Emergency I will summon you immediately".

"And she won't be alone, I can stay with her to help her and learn" Izuna said "I think it's really interesting to know that type of ninjutsu, and with my Sharingan it would be easier to learn" Madara was surprised to see his little brother so interested in something that was not fighting.

"I would also like to learn!" Toka added "I can stay with them in the night watch; we've already been doing that for weeks now anyway"

"Hey you're copying me!" The youngest Uchiha complained

"No I'm not!" the kunoichi said "Also, I won't allow your obnoxious self to pester her while working"

"Oh, so you'll be keeping track on me?" Izuna asked outraged. When he saw Toka nodded maliciously he exploded "I'll learn faster than you, you will see SENJU!" The woman just laughed because she already knew how to annoy the Uchiha.

"I believe it would be good to have people from both clans learning. Brother you should learn too, for you already have healing chakra" Tobirama said surprising everybody with his diplomacy. Fortunately Hashirama didn't mock his brother this time.

"I would love to!" he said cheerful. "I believe the night classes are full, can I go in the mornings with you Sakura-san?" The pinkette nodded

"Shure Hashirama-san, I can teach you the basics" she said and then added "You too if you are interested Madara-san" The mentioned looked at her a bit doubtful

"I don't have that type of chakra, you may be losing your time" he said. I was not that he didn't believe in himself achieving it, but he thought about all the lives he had taken and felt a bit bad.

"Nonsense, you should try, I am sure you will master it!" Sakura stated, seeing he was still down she said "Let's do this, I'll teach you the basics of medic ninjutsu and you teach me one ninjutsu technique for each my natures, what do you think?" He chuckled.

"Hn, okay that would do." He said

"Is it okay if I join too?" Takato interrupted, "I'm very interested in learning" he added seriously. Madara was proud of his siblings; they were trying to improve for other's sake. That was the Uchiha he wanted, they will be a great example.

"Of course!" Sakura approved smiling, she was happy to hear that everybody was interested in learning healing jutsu, the more the merrier! That would make a huge difference for everybody.

"But you should come with us to the night shift" Hikari Said surprising him, was she really asking to hang out with her? "Those two are going to be enough for Sakura" she said casually looking Madara and Hashirama, "and you better don't be thinking of leaving me alone with the spicy duo" she added pointing Izuna and Toka whom exclaimed '_Hey!_ 'A bit offended. Somehow he felt a bit down realizing that that was why she asked that, but he accepted anyway.

"Sure, I would help you handle this two." He smirked; he was not going to let his head get the worst out of him.

"That's great!" she smiled, and again he thought it was for him. But what was going on with him!? Izuna's words had messed his mind. He was sure of that. What he didn't know was that Hikari had really asked him to join them on purpose; she actually wanted to hang out with him.

"So when do we start?" Izuna asked with enthusiasm.

"Tomorrow, the sooner the better" the pinkette said, Hashirama exclaimed in joy, Madara sweat dropped, but smiled softly and nodded to her.

"Thank you for taking my siblings as apprentices" he offered to her. She smiled without feeling embarrassed or anything, this felt right, and at this moment she was so happy and calm that she knew even Inner wouldn't disturb her _'CHA I'M STILL HERE! BUT THIS IS SO COOL THAT I WILL GIVE YOU A BREAK… WAKE ME UP WHEN YOU START WORKING WITH THAT MADARA 'HOTTIE' UCHIHA!" _That made her feel a bit aware, damn Inner! But she quickly answered before anybody would think she was insane.

"My pleasure, of course they will start with Hikari-chan molding chakra and learning the basics." Sakura said "We will need some fresh alive fish"

"FISH!?" the shinobi asked in unison.

"You will see" The pinkette smirked and looked to her friend who did the same. She resumed eating while everybody was asking why the fish and some other stuff that she decided to ignore. When everybody got tired of asking, they continued chatting peacefully and finished the meals.

It was almost evening when they left the place. They had had a good time, and it was time for duties. Madara and his siblings had to return and speak with the Kido san to know how was everything with Hikari and her 'Uchiha' condition, and Hashirama had to prepare some stuff for his early lessons, because Sakura said she started at 6 am sharp. So he excused himself with Tobirama and Toka and left to the Senju compound. The Uchiha did the same, and the girls were left to wander through the city alone.

* * *

"This looks nice!" Hikari said as they were leaving the merchant district "It's actually pretty cool to be witnesses of all this".

"Yeah, it really makes you feel at home" Sakura smiled nostalgic. "Though I can't make myself to believe we left everybody behind, and we won't be able to see them again anymore. It's so unjust!" her voice shook a little.

"I know, I have this huge pain in my chest every time I see a place where I shared something with Naruto" the brunette grabbed her shirt painfully where her heart was. "It's like the loosing of Itachi-kun all over again. Though this time is different, I am the one that left, and Naruto is alive and well"

"And he was just starting to realize his feelings for Hinata…" Sakura said sighing

"Oh, for kami's sake!" the Takishima exclaimed as she realized something.

"WHAT?" the pinkette asked surprised

"It's been almost a month that we're here and we never thought of how it all ended! I mean, Hinata and Naruto, I believe he must have saved the day, but we left in the middle of the rescue mission" she explained feeling ashamed, how could they not think about that all this time!?.

Sakura must have felt the same way because she became silent, blushed and looked to the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Maybe Hamura can tell us something" she whispered. It was an awkward moment for them, they felt so guilty. Fortunately their apprentices appeared smiling at them.

"Hikari-sensei/Sakura-sensei" they greeted in unison, and that made the girls recover themselves a little.

"Hi guys, how is your training doing?" The pinkette asked, they also felt a little guilty for not being able to train them properly these last few days.

"Awesome" Ryuuji said "Megumi is gaining a lot of stamina, and she is starting to recognize and feel her chakra" The little girl smiled proudly.

"You are?" Hikari said with enthusiasm "that is wonderful! Don't worry Megu-chan, tomorrow we'll continue our training together" Both younglings looked at them curious.

"That's right, tomorrow at 6.30 sharp we'll start working at the Hospital" Sakura explained to the eldest Koji "We'll have company if you don't mind, two new students" The boy felt a bit jealous that he would be sharing his sensei time with someone else.

"Who are they?" He asked humphing.

"Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama" She smiled.

"WHAT!?" he almost fell backwards "The two heroes and founders of this Village? And I'll be training with them?"

"Well, actually, since you're a bit more advance in medicine knowledge, you'll be supervising the basics" the pinkette said. Ryuuji expression faltered a little. "Don't worry it's only for the first aides and biology knowledge. Let me handle the jutsu and chakra." The boy nodded, he still felt jealous for sharing his sensei, but also proud that he might be able to teach something to two of the greatest ninja he'd ever known"

"Sensei…" Megumi grabbed Hikari from her sleeve; the mentioned looked at her curious "That means we'll be training tomorrow in the morning?" She thought that since her brother was going to be at the Hospital she would have free time there.

"Of Course Megu-chan!" the brunette answered "Tomorrow we'll meet at 8 am at the Village's gates for training. The little girl beamed.

"Well kids, we must leave to rest. It was a tiring day for us." Sakura apologized.

"It's Okay Sakura-sensei; you need to rest for tomorrow. I will do so too" the Koji boy answered politely. Megumi nodded and both greeted them goodbye and left to their home.

Both kunoichi sighed again, and walked to their house. Now they could call it home, but it still felt odd. This had been a long day and they needed to process everything well for they could start fresh their new lives in this Konoha the next day.

*****AUTHORS NOTE******

**Sorry for being gone for so long! I had a lot to do with work and studying, but now I'm on vacation from the latter so I get to have more free time.**

**Hope you like this short chapter! I've written lots of other ones but It's going to be a while for them to be published (let's say they happen on the 6****th**** month the girls are living in New/old Konoha).**

**Don't worry, I'm planning on doing some time skips.**

**Thanks for reviewing and faving **


	21. New training

**Disclaimer I do not own Naruto**

The Uchiha council was impressed by Kido's tale about Hikari Takishima. Some of them were moved. A little girl left by her parents that were Uchiha deserters descendants, clan less, that had to learn their family dojutsu on her own seemed heartbreaking. Of Course the council Head told them that she was trained by a shinobi that knew her parents and somehow understood how the dojutsu worked because he had fought with them, but still it felt sad. The guilt that had appeared with this new village, with the truce with Senju, by realizing that they could really cohabitate fine and not like enemies but like fellow shinobi was huge for some of them.

Naturally there were some elders that didn't trust Hikari and her friend, for them they were the ones that poisoned their leader's minds and inspired this silliness of Village. But they had to stay silent, because they were a few. They didn't know about the curse of hatred, but they were starting to develop it without noticing.

That small group, led by Majime-san, wanted to get some type of revenge with them so they wanted to invite them to a traditional fancy dinner to make fun of them. They were rude and clearly had no class, and even though they were merciless warriors, they still were a noble clan. Because of their lack of manners they would embarrass themselves in front of their leaders and they would not seem so fond of them anymore.

Of Course Kido-san saw behind this, but when Majime-san said with emphasis that they must show their gratitude to them, the whole council agreed.

"It's settled then" the serious Uchiha said "We shall celebrate a great dinner for them tomorrow, as a Welcome and a Thank you for saving our Young Master Izuna" there was a lot of approval to that statement, but the Council Head intervened.

"I believe that would be great Majime-san" Kido said politely "But we must invite the Senju" everybody remained silent at that and the smirk left the other Uchiha face.

"You want to invite our enemies to a dinner on our compound?" he snapped. It was so easy to ignite his temper the Council head thought. The rest of the group looked surprised at his question, and some of them even showed discomfort.

"Oi Majime-san, you do know we're not enemies anymore, don't you?" he said with a slightly mocking tone. He realized the man was about to snap again so he quickly intervened "If we only invite those ladies here, that might give the wrong Idea to our Senju Comrades. They might even think we have a secret agenda with them". There was a small pause and nobody dared to speak, not even Majime, and there were some realization faces that were nodding agreeing with Kido's words "If we invite the Senju Council and their Clan leaders we will be honoring our truce and also it will be an excuse to know them better so we can cohabitate better".

"I think what Kido-san is saying is true" another Uchiha spoke "We shall celebrate a great dinner to honor the Kunoichi and invite the Senju because they might want to honor them too, and also because we all helped each other in that last battle. We're not enemies anymore, and we can't be the lesser clan. We are proud Uchiha, a Noble Clan, not barbarians, and of course not traitors to our truce."

"Well said Ryosuke san" an Uchiha woman said "We must not put ourselves in a situation that could make our allies doubt about us" the rest of the council nodded and agreed with the council woman.

"Sora-san and Ryosuke-san are right" Kido said "we also need to speak with Madara-san to see if he agrees with this idea".

Speaking of the devil, Madara and his siblings had just entered to the compound. They had been talking about what learning medic ninjutsu would be. He had spaced out a little thinking on a certain pinkette and how he got himself in a student and teacher position. He didn't want to upset her when he talked about her training, but he could see so much potential in her, and when he learned how she had trained it made him respect her more.

"So, tomorrow you'll have to wake at dawn Nii-San" Izuna said to the eldest smirking.

"Why is that?" Madara asked, seeing his brother smiling in an odd way.

"You know Sakura-san starts her training at 6:00 am or so" the youngest said "So be prepared, she seems to be quite a hurricane with her work"

"I've seen her reaction to the loss of a patient" the Clan Leader said "So I know as a fact that she can also be an earthquake too" he smirked.

"So mean…" Takato deadpanned. "And also dark humorous"

"Hey! Don't criticize me, I was only joking" Madara defended himself "She almost kills Hikari-san with a single punch. I spoke to her after that and she sounded so defeated that it hurt. She seems pretty passionate about saving lives" he sighed chuckling subtly.

"Aww Mada Nii-san is in loooove!" Izuna said in a saccharine voice mocking his brother. Madara and Takato froze in place, the latter choking with his saliva and coughing (Or maybe laughing, his siblings thought) hard. The eldest Uchiha became red and speechless, but he looked at his little brother with a look that would send shivers through anybody's spine. A murderous look. Izuna couldn't handle that look and became heavily pale, swallowing hard. "I-I w-was joking Ni-Nii-san!" he stuttered. "It's the same thing I do with Taka-nii and Hikari –san, though in his case he really seems to like her"

This time it was Takato who became read and surrounded by a murderous aura, and Madara felt a bit relieved to be moved from the center of the attention.

"How's Toka San, brother?" the middle brother asked viciously to bother Izuna who was the last one of the three to became red and angry. It was a silent staring war between the three of them, all red, all murderous and breathing heavily, feeling outraged. They started to walk again in silence but looking all the same, and without realizing they reached the council room.

Suddenly the door opened before they could do anything, and Kido San appeared startling them. He looked at them curious one by one, realizing their blushes, their breathing and they demeanor. The elder sighed and the smirked at them.

"Heart issues fighting?" he asked knowingly. The three siblings' eyes widened before they deadpanned at the elder. "Oh, come on, don't mind me! I'm an old man that likes to mess with younglings like you" he laughed wholeheartedly now "I remember when I first fell in love with my wife! I Acted the same as you three…" they were about to say something and he added "Of course, it's not the same situation, you're just three obnoxious siblings that are messing with each other, I'm not actually saying that you are in love…" and he whispered the last phrase more to himself while turning back "But you're on the right path though" and he entered the Council room.

The Uchiha siblings heard that phrase but said anything. Deep in thoughts they entered behind Kido San to face the Council.

"Ah, Madara Sama!" Sora San said kindly "Takato-sama, Izuna-sama welcome. We were going to seek after you" The Patriarch felt curious about that, he had thought that he might have to confront the Council because of Hikari, but everybody seemed in a good mood. Well, everybody except Majime-san, that old bastard was always angry and plotting. Of course Sora san will always be kind to the heirs, she was their mother's best friend, and for her, they were her family.

"Sora-oba- san" He greeted her "How are you doing? What's going on?" His siblings also greeted their adoptive 'aunt'.

"I'm fine, thank you" she answered "Madara –sama, Majime-san has had the greatest idea!" Now the Uchiha leader was lost. '_That old man a great idea?'_ He thought to himself.

* * *

"Oi! I can't wait to learn Medic Ninjutsu" Hashirama walked almost jumping like a little boy. Tobirama was next to him, very embarrassed. Toka had left to her home, she had said something about being too mentally tired, and the Albino thought that was a lame excuse for leaving them. Of course it was better to deal with one silly idiot than two, he thought.

"Stop jumping around like a three year old, you're a grown up man" Tobirama said pretty annoyed and extended his leg so his brother could trip with it. The eldest was so absorbed in his joy that he indeed tripped and fell with his face directly to the ground. That pissed Tobi more. "Agh you're an idiot! You have to stay alert!"

"Ouch, you don't have to be so rude and mean" Hashirama sat on the floor rubbing his face and looking up to his aniki. "Just for once let me feel free, I have you by my side, so there's no need to be worried because you will protect me"

"You're too naïve" he scolded him, but somehow he felt proud of what he had said. "So you should go to bed now, your lessons start way too early for you"

"You know I'm a morning person" Hashirama stood up with a bright smile on his face.

"Yes, but this might be more for a dawn person" Tobirama said smirking "That Haruno-san seems pretty strict" His brother coughed on purpose marking his ´mistake´ and it took him a little to realize what he had said "Okay, Sakura-san" he added "It's strange for me to have familiarities with people and you know that so don't make a fuss about it" he added the last because he could foresee his brother comment.

"Anyway" Hashirama held his snort to himself "Why didn't you want to learn medic Dojutsu?" he asked his brother

"Don't want to" the albino simply said "maybe later, I'm more interested in learn from Ta- I mean Hikari-san." His brother gave him an odd look

"You're interested in Hikari-san?" He raised one eyebrow. Tobirama didn't catch the tone in his voice until he continued "You know that Takato seems to be interested in her right?" _Oh Crap _the albino thought.

"I-I'm not saying I'm interested in her in _that way _baka anija!" he exploded "Just saying I'm curious about her techniques and chakra and her use of the Hirashin above all" he explained crossing his arms and looking to the side. The eldest exploded in to laughter this time.

"I'm Sorry! I was joking!" Hashirama said "Of course you would have those kind of interest on a Kunoichi like her!" Tobirama didn't know why, but that hurt him a little. He could develop feelings on a woman if he wanted to, and if he someday found the right one. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize he had blushed a little with all this jokes, but Hashirama didn't fail to notice that.

"It's okay" the albino finally said "I'm used to you getting all wrong" he eyed his brother and after a sigh he said "don't worry, I think She doesn't really like me anyway." They had reached their home "I'm off to sleep then, good night anija" Tobirama entered his room and closed behind him leaving a deep in thought Hashirama.

* * *

Next morning came quickly and even though Hikari could have slept a bit longer, she was used to wake up to have breakfast with Sakura. She did that because in that way she would be sure the pinkette had eaten something. It didn't matter she was a doctor, sometimes she left without grabbing a bite of anything.

They were sitting in the kitchen when they felt two familiar chakra signatures before the knock on the door could be heard.

"Good Morning Hikari San!" greeted a beaming Hashirama to the kunoichi when she opened the door. Boy he was a bright morning person. Next to him was a slightly gloomy Madara that seemed to be more normal, he was up, but not that extremely cheery.

"Hn" the Uchiha Nodded.

"Good morning for you too" the Takishima answered "we were just finishing breakfast, Sakura is almost ready, would you want to come in?"

"I don't think it's a proper thing for us to do" Madara said simply. She was clueless of the meaning of his answer so he elaborated "For two men to enter on two single women's home might be considered improper."

"But you're two of the most respectable men in the Village, and the leaders nonetheless" she reasoned "And Sakura is the main doctor, also kind of your sensei now" she said that last part smirking.

"That's true, but I think it would take a while for everybody to acknowledge that. You need to remember we're way too much older than you" The Uchiha answered like he was joking but she got what he implied "until then, we'd prefer to wait outside. Maybe in the near future things change and loose up a little".

"Yeah, you're probably right" she sigh "I am pretty sure that the villagers influence will stiffen down the Clans. They will have to be more sociable anyway" Both Clan leaders snorted at that, and she raised an eyebrow amused.

"Well, you're talking about socialize and actually I was just talking to Madara because the Uchiha Clan had the wonderful idea to celebrate a special dinner to honor both Sakura-san and you" Hashirama explained

"Somebody said my name?" the pinkette appeared through the door, dressed in her casual outfit but there was a slight difference in the Chinese dress this time, this was knee high instead of falling down her ankles. She thought it was better for her movements and also it didn't hang down her med coat.

Her sudden appearance took Madara by surprised. Man, she did look beautiful even in the early morning. _Wait, where did that come from?_ He thought. He coughed hard to get rid of his thoughts and possible embarrassment.

"Hashirama was saying that our Clan is hosting a meal in your honor, and the Senju Clan is also invited." He explained the best casual way he could. The Senju, knowing his friend, knew he was slightly nervous and this time he didn't want to mock him.

"That's why" Hashirama intervened "we laughed when you said the Clans would have to be more social"

"Oh, I see" the Takishima answered amused, she had also noticed that something was off with the Uchiha. She knew her friend seemed to like him, but she hasn't realized yet that he might like her too. This was going to be fun for her… "So Madara-San when do we expect the honor?" she asked

"Next week" he answered "We will officially notice you shortly"

"Very well then," Hikari said "I let you three be. Fortunately for my student, I start training at 8:00" she smirked and bowed the two men, and then added looking at the pinkette "Don't be too harsh on them" she winked and entered their home. Sakura chuckled, and the men sweat dropped.

"So… good morning gentlemen" she smiled at them "Shall we?" she asked gesturing with her hand and leading the way.

They arrived silently at the brand new hospital. It was kind of an awkward silence for the three of them though. Madara had started a conversation with the pinkette about why did they need fish to train, and when she started to explain Hashirama got all excited and as always made everything about him and annoyed the Uchiha. The Senju had stopped his babbling because he saw the look on his friend's face and made him feel unease. Sakura noticed the exchange and smiled softly but remained walking in silence looking forward. She somehow was trying to give them some space. She thought that Hashirama was too Naruto-alike, naïve and dense, but very authentic. Madara reminded her a little of younger Sasuke. Of course he actually didn't remind her of him per sé, but his attitude, all cool and then childish when something annoyed him was similar. She didn't know why but she found that this demeanor suited better the Uchiha leader than the annoying ex 'love of her life'.

'_CHAA! I CAN THINK SASUKE IS ANNOYING TOO YOU KNOW?' _ Inner outed, Sakura smiled inwardly

'You're right Inner, he was really annoying, remind me why we liked him?' she asked her consciousness taking advantage of the silent walking.

'_BECAUSE WE WERE YOUNG AND SHALLOW, AND HE SEEMED COOL. BUT HE WAS AN OBNOXIOUS SELFISH LITTLE BRAT'._

'Oh, Come on, you were the one that was screaming and squeaking all over the place'

'_I TOLD YOU. __WE__ WERE SHALLOW. I'M ALSO TAKING THE BLAME'_

'Whatever…'

'_YOU DON'T LIKE MADARA BECAUSE HE REMEMBERS YOU OF SASUKE, YOU KNOW?'_

'W-what?' Sakura exclaimed in her head and choked with her saliva making her cough.

"Are you alright Sakura-san?" Hashirama said, the Uchiha stopped his tracks with his friend and looked at her preoccupied.

"I-I'm fine" she managed to say between coughs "I just choked with saliva, I'm sorry" fortunately she could pass her blush for embarrassment of the situation, nobody could actually know what she was really thinking, and seeing Madara all worried about her wasn't making things easier.

'_HE IS SO HOT!' _inner appeared again. Sakura turned her back to the men and continued walking.

'Shut up Inner! You're making me feel ashamed of myself!'

'_THAT'S NOT MY FAULT, IT'S YOURS. WHY DON'T YOU ACCEPT YOUR FEELINGS? IT'S PRETTY EASY YOU KNOW?'_

'It's not that easy, I actually don't know what I feel' she paused 'why are you so sure that I don't like Madara because he reminds me of Sasuke?'

'_OHHH YOU'RE INTERESTED NOW? HAHAHA PITY WE HAVE ARRIVED TO YOUR WORK! SEE YOU LATER, CHAAA!'_

'Damn Inner...' Sakura stopped at the front of the building where Ryuuji was waiting for her leaning on a wall. When the boy saw his sensei and the two Clan leaders he stood up straight and bowed

"Sensei, Uchiha –sama, Senju-sama good morning" he said.

"Ryuuji-san good morning! But please call me Hashirama, since we're going to be classmates" the Senju beamed.

"A-aha…" the boy looked at the man sweat-dropping a little "sure, Hashirama-sama". The mentioned was about to protest on the 'sama' but his friend intervened.

"Good morning, Ryuuji-san" Madara said serious "please, call me Madara-san." The boy thought that this man was cool; he was surprised by his calm yet imposing aura. He felt he wanted to be like him when he grew up.

"Ryuuji-kun?" Sakura asked entertained, being caught staring the boy slightly blushed and answered.

"T-thank you Madara-san" he managed to say. Both men were intimidating in a way.

"Thank you for sharing your sensei with us" the Uchiha sort of smiled politely. Sakura was amused by this exchange. It was cute to see her little student all embarrassed by two of the founders of their village, though she felt a bit uneasy at Madara thanking about sharing her. Before she would get all worked up she spoke.

"Very well then, we're all greeted" she said "let's start working!" she clapped her hands and entered the building. The men and the boy quickly followed her inside.

The morning was pretty busy. They have a lot work because of the minor injuries of the villagers that were building the commercial district. As she had said, Ryuuji was left to supervise her new two students in the nursing work: bandages, disinfecting, and casts. They might have experience in first aid during battle, but it was very rough and the boy had already mastered clean and efficient normal healing work. Madara was impressed by the way he handled the people. He was really into it. Fortunately for him, with the use of his Sharingan he learned everything quickly. He adjusted his methods to the ones the boy showed them and started to attend people by himself efficiently within an hour, leaving a very annoyed Hashirama that complained all the time about him using the Sharingan as an advantage.

"This is not a competition, idiot. We're learning to heal people" The Uchiha said bored. The Senju was about to continue rambling but he heard Ryuuji laughing and realized what silly he had been. Ashamed, he confronted the boy.

"I'm sorry Ryuuji-sempai!" he clapped his hands over his head and bowed.

"W-Why do you call me sempai!?" he stuttered red as a tomato. "S-stop doing that!" he motioned the Senju to stop bowing. Sakura was looking from the other side of the room, '_Boy, he really is shy' _she thought.

"Because you're our sempai, you're Sakura-san's oldest student, and you're teaching and supervising us" Hashirama explained brightly as always. "Right Madara?" The Uchiha looked at his friend as if he was crazy, but then read behind his intention.

"Right, you're our sempai Ryuuji-san" his expressionless face made the Senju complain. Ryuuji was more embarrassed than ever.

"Come on Madara! You're scaring him!" he said.

"Shut up idiot, let me continue working!" he answered with emphasis and turned back to continue working. Hashirama sighed defeated, but the Koji boy laughed again. He looked at him curious.

"You really are good friends!" Ryuuji said more relaxed "I thought you were scary, but you're interesting people. I hope someday I can be like you" Madara looked at them over one of his shoulders smirked.

"You have to aim to be better" he simply commented and resumed working. The boy's expression lit up.

"He's very kind when he wants to you know?" Hashirama said to his 'sempai' in a whisper "I think you will be better than us if you work hard" he patted the boy in one shoulder. "Now, please help me, I'm awful at this and I can't let this bastard to beat me, even though this is not a competition" he begged.

"Come on, Hashirama-san, I'll show you from start again" Ryuuji said. Hashirama let the change of Sama-to san pass, but he was really happy.

* * *

It was already 8:00 am and Hikari was waiting Megumi at the front of her home.

"Sensei!" the little girl exclaimed as she exited her house "Good Morning!"

"Good morning Megu-chan!" the kunoichi replied. "Are you ready? Did you eat breakfast properly?" The girl nodded vigorously. "Then come on, we're going to start new training today. Follow me"

The two of them walked through the Village until they reached the front gates.

"Umm sensei" Megumi said confused "Why are we here?"

"We're going to start our physical training" she had the need to reproduce a small training that Guy Sensei and Lee did the time she was in Konoha. She used to join them some days and it really had helped to increase her stamina a lot. "We're going to run all along the Konoha wall perimeter"

"WHAT!?" the girl shouted scared.

"Don't worry, today it will be mostly walking and maybe jogging, we need to recognize our path" Hikari explained easily. The little girl felt a little better but anyway she asked worried for the answer.

"How many times a week we're going to do this?" her voice was barely a whisper.

"Oh, we're going to do this every day of course!" the Takishima answered.

"W-what!?" Megumi asked again and paled a little.

The Kunoichi was really enjoying her student expressions. She wasn't in favor of abusive training, but Megumi was starting to feel chakra, she needed to do this in order to increase stamina, and furthermore Chakra too. And this was the best and fastest way to do so.

"It's okay Megumi!" Hikari said "We'll start slow, and then we'll increase the speed and difficulties. For now, let's start walking" The girl nodded weakly and followed her Sensei from the inside side of the wall surrounding the Village. The first part was even ground; it went for almost one kilometer. That was a good workout. Then it got tricky for almost 5 kilometers because of the uneven ground. The worst part was to climb the maybe soon to be Hokage mount.

Once they were reaching the top the run across Tobirama, who was meditating looking the village from the top. He didn't need to open his eyes to know they were there, he had already felt them approaching for a while and instead of leaving, he stayed because he was curious.

Yes. Senju Tobirama was curious. He was already interested on the Takishima's use of jutsu, and also her seal, but when he felt her running and climbing the mount with another presence that had a little amount of chakra that was increasing slowly it intrigued him.

"Come on Megu-chan" he heard the kunoichi shout to the other person "hurry or I'll leave you behind… Oh!" She had turned her back and realized that the Senju was seating there watching her with one eye open and his eyebrow raised. '_Haven't she felt my chakra? She is really lousy about security'_, Tobirama thought.

"Don't mind me" the albino said serious playing it cool.

"T-Tobirama-san…" she said, she was about to explain something but was interrupted.

"SENSEIIIII you're so mean!" suddenly a little girl appeared breathing hard "Don't leave me behind! I-I…" She stopped on her tracks abruptly when she saw him, stumbled and fell on her face.

Tobirama expected for her to cry, like all kids do at her age. She might be five or six years old so he assumed this was the Takishima's little apprentice. He became pretty surprised when she got up quickly, adjusted her clothing and patted al the dirt from it. She cleaned a bit of blood from her cheek, 'S_he might hurt herself when she fell_' he thought.

"I-I'm sorry sensei, I didn't knew we had company" '_Did she actually apologized to the Takishima for calling her mean?'_ The Albino thought. She was nervous of his presence there, but she really didn't seem to know who he was.

"It's Okay Megu-chan" Hikari said smiling gently to her, patting her head. The little girl blushed, and Tobirama thought that was sort of a cute scene. Of course he would never think that something was 'cute' but he remembered the way his mother used to be with him and his siblings when they were little. A small knot formed in his throat and he coughed, but the Kunoichi misunderstood that action.

"Oh, I'm sorry Tobirama –san" she bowed a little "This is Koji Megumi, Ryuutaro-san's granddaughter and… my disciple" she said the last part looking to the side a bit embarrassed. It seemed that she wasn't used to be a 'sensei' yet. '_Interesting' _he supposed "Megumi, this is Senju Tobirama, one of the founders of this Village and one of the leaders of the Senju Clan, with his brother Hashirama-san." He was impressed by the way she introduced him. It was the first time he didn't feel like he was under his brother shadow and that puzzled him.

Hikari didn't want to introduce him just as Hashirama's brother; she always thought he had his own merit to be reckoned. She used to admire him when she was younger, but when she learned more about the Village true history she disagreed a lot with his believing. They had had a rough beginning in this era but he didn't seem wrong, just maybe a bit too extreme and untrusting. Megumi was more nervous if possible with the new information and she bowed and greeted him.

"G-Good Morning Senju-Sama!" the little girl said. He didn't want to be rude to a child so he got up and bowed to her.

"Good Morning Megumi-san" he said "Please, call me Tobirama" She blushed even harder.

"Y-Yes, Tobirama-sama" she answered. He didn't want to make her feel more aware, so he spoke to the Kunoichi.

"What kind of training are you doing?" he enquired. She was surprised by his sudden change of topic.

"We're working on increasing stamina, so she can sense her chakra and increase it." She explained "It's a bit harsh but it gives you a quick boost on it"

"Just by running and climbing?" he doubted that.

"Well, yes, but one isn't allowed to use chakra." She answered "So when you start using it you find a huge difference on performance."

"You made her climb this mount without any help?" he asked surprised and there were few things that stunned him, but this seemed a day full of surprises. "You really are mean" he said in a plain face, almost deadpanning.

Hikari opened her eyes wide. Was he being funny? That seemed out of character of him, but something on his demeanor made her think that this was the real Tobirama Senju, and she was okay with him. She started to laugh when he looked at her like he thought he had offended her.

"HA HA HA" he was confused "So you really are a fun person" she said when she stopped laughing, with a smirk remaining on her face. He didn't understand if this was an insult or just her joking. "Maybe you didn't realize, but even though you called me mean - she rolled her eyes at him at the mention of it - it was funny".

"I don't understand your concept of fun" he said plainly again, but this was more of a façade, because he was fighting an urge to smirk. It was the first time he had a casual talk with somebody who wasn't his brother, Toka, and somehow now Takato. Because this was what casual talk was for him. Speaking of the Uchiha, he remembered his brother's words about him being interested in the Takishima. He could see why Takato would be interested in her. She seemed smart, strong and openhearted, just like him. Tobirama on his part still didn't get her, but felt she might be okay. He wouldn't mind to get to know her better, and the little girl was interesting too: a civilian that was training to be a shinobi was new to him.

"Okay, now you've lost it" it was the time of Hikari to see him plainly. "You're no fun at all" she crossed her arms and looked away. Now he… _snorted?_ She thought it might be her senses lying, but she could see him smirking now. "I'm sorry we've disturbed your meditation, I had sensed you and somehow I thought you might leave once you've felt us"

"You think very low of me it seems" He was still smirking but he had crossed his arms and looked at her rising his eyebrows. "I don't hate company as much as you might think, just the ones that bother me" he made a pause "and that's mostly everybody except for Hashirama, Toka and sometimes the Uchiha siblings". She laughed at that, and Megumi didn't comprehend the exchange, she was little to understand ironic humor, but she sort of like this white haired man. "I was curious of what was going on. Please, continue your training."

"I'm sorry again, it wasn't my intention to make you feel bad" she said, and he knew she was just playing with him "I think we should stop for a little, rest and eat something, we're near noon, and we need to complete the village's perimeter before my evening shift. Want to eat Megu?"

The little girl didn't need to answer because her stomach growled. She became redder and looked straight to Tobirama, whose eyes widened and his eyebrows went higher. It was only a second of silence and then she started to giggle hard. Tobirama loosened up and laughed with her, Hikari couldn't believe she was actually witnessing the Nidaime laughing.

"Do you mind if we sit here for a break?" she asked the Senju.

"It's okay, I should go to eat something too" he was about to leave but he was interrupted

"T-Tobirama-san!" Megumi called him and he turned back to see her.

"Yes young lady?" he asked utterly out of character for Hikari, but now she was sure he was just like this. Maybe kids were a soft spot for him, like it was with Madara.

"W-would you like to eat with us?" She invited him, and then looked to her sensei who nodded. "Sensei and I have plenty of food for both of us, and we could share" she shyly asked.

It would require a person with ice instead of a heart to say no to Megumi, and even though he thought to be quite a block of ice, he was a gentleman.

"Thank you for your invitation, Megumi-san" he said serious "Is it okay for me to stay, Hikari-san?" The kunoichi was having fun getting to know this brand new side of one of the most terrifying shinobi Konoha will ever have, so she also nodded to him.

"Come on then, let's sit here and enjoy the view while eating" she took a big breath and smiled watching Konoha, her home. At that moment Tobirama looked at her and thought '_it is really an enjoyable view…"_

* * *

"Okay Gentlemen! Time for lunch!" Sakura exclaimed. Madara and Hashirama stopped their chores and went to the other side of the room where she was, Ryuuji following them close. "We're going to eat in this office next to the practice room in case they need us" she explained and took a scroll where she had sealed food for the four of them.

With all the work the clan leaders were starving and they started to eat like rabid animals, again competing on who would eat more rice balls. Sakura suddenly laughed and Madara chocked with some rice and started to cough. The pinkette stopped laughing and handled him a glass of water.

"Are you alright?" she asked him. He was ashamed of the way he was eating with the idiot of Hashirama. It was his fault; he always wanted to compete with him.

"Y-yes" he swallowed more water and the cough stopped "I heard you laugh and I realized how silly we might look. It's embarrassing"

"Well… yes it kind of was" she said simply "But you have worked hard, so you deserve this. Don't be shy and feel free to eat!"

"Thank you" he answered eyes fixed on hers. He suddenly noticed a faint blush on her cheeks. _'Is she blushing? It can't be…'_ he thought.

"You better hurry because dummy over there is eating everything" she elbowed him softly in the ribs, and that sent shivers through all his body, but he looked at his idiotic friend and started to fight with him over the food.

"They are really something" she said to Ryuuji, who had watched all the exchange between the Uchiha and his sensei and was lost in thought.

"Uh, yeah" he got back to the real world "They are good people though, and very good friends." The boy smiled.

"How are you doing with chakra? Have you manifested it?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I kind of did." He answered smiling proud "I could cast some blue energy between my hands" The pinkette seemed impressed.

"Excellent, then I'll teach the fish technique to the three of you." She said in joy "It's going to be harder for you, I won't lie to you" and he seemed a bit down "But I think that since you are learning to use chakra, you will be perfectly concentrated in the task. They might have more experience, but they have their way to do things that are not the same for medic ninjutsu. That's why not everybody can master it. You are focusing on that, and that is your strength." She explained to him. "Just remember –and she said this part out loud –this is not a competition" and then looked at the elder men who were fighting over the last rice ball ready to use jutsu. Ashamed they lowered their heads and apologized to them.

"Thank you sensei" Ryuuji said "I think I am going to learn a lot!" and Madara, Hashirama and Sakura smiled at the boy.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Thanks for the faves! And for the waiting. I am working on the next four chapters, but I had to finish this first and it was a pain in the back! LOL**

**I have some drawings of my characters on my DA account:**

bellahikari/gallery

**Hope you like this chapter. MadaSaku slowburn and maybe… a little of TobixHikari? What do you think? **

**Read you soon!**


	22. Learning

**DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

After the embarrassing rice ball moment, Madara was calmer. He had eaten in silence and in deep thinking, using the 'being ashamed' façade as an alibi. He had already spent six hours working with Sakura and, though they were not alone of course, he had had the time to follow her with his eyes every time no one was looking. That feeling he had when she elbowed him in the ribs had left him thinking, it was similar to what he felt the first time he touch her hand accidentally after the battle.

He knew there had been times that he had had contact with her and didn't feel that electricity, like when he comforted the pinkette after her battle with Hikari by touching her shoulder. That didn't fit with his sibling's theory that he had a Crush on her. _´Crush…' _he thought. '_Is that what this is?... No, this seems different.´ _he had had a small crush on a girl when he was fifteen, but sadly she died during a battle with the Hagoromo Clan. It wasn't a meaningful crush, but it counted as his first romance-related broken heart. Because his heart had been already broken by his siblings loses long before that. After a while of thinking of a possible answer, he realized that when he acted normal around the kunoichi, there was this natural feeling like the one between people that know each other for a long time. That's why in those moments he felt confident and didn't act awkward. The moments he felt odd where the ones when he was caught off guard.

Madara watched Sakura talking with Ryuuji and he discovered a brand new side of her. She seemed like a fish inside a river, full of life and experience.This was her home, where she felt safe and could feel useful. This was the real Sakura, and he liked her.

'_Like her? Do I like her?' _and with that thought his heart skipped a beat.

'_YOU DO, WHY THE HESITATION?' _a voice inside him asked. He opened his eyes slightly wider. _'YOU LIKE HER, STOP QUESTIONING EVERYTHING AND LIVE'. _What was that? But then again, who was he lying to? He knew that was his consciousness, like he knew he liked her. He wasn't in love though, he couldn't be.

'_But how to act around her now?' _he asked to himself in his mind.

'_JUST BY BEING YOURSELF. YOU'RE THE GREAT MADARA UCHIHA, THE MIGHTY WARRIOR, AND YOU ARE SCARED TO BE AROUND A GIRL YOU LIKE? PLEASE!' _the voice shouted inside him '_YOU WILL SCARE HER AWAY. THINK OF IT AS A BATTLE WHERE EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE SCARED YOU FIGHT BECAUSE THERE IS ALWAYS A MORE IMPORTANT MEANING TO IT, PEOPLE TO SAVE OR AVENGE. THIS IS ANOTHER BATTLE; YOU HAVE TO SUCK UP YOUR FEARS AND INTERACT WITH HER.' _His eyes widened completely by now, and Hashirama brought him back to reality.

"Are you okay, Madara?" the Senju asked to his friend. "I'm sorry I laughed at you because of the rice ball". The Uchiha realized he had been off and shook his head.

"I'm fine, I just dozed off a little" he tried to sound ashamed as he invented an excuse.

"But your eyes went wide open…" Hashirama was concerned "Maybe Sakura-san can run a check up on you"

"It's not necessary, I said I'm fine" he answered bored.

"What's going on?" Sakura said coming next to them. Madara became a bit nervous, but he remembered what the voice in his head just said. '_Man, I'm hearing voices in my head, of course I'm not fine!'._

"Nothing" he answered calmed, this was a battle. "I dozed off a little and this idiot wants to bother you by running a check up on me. He thinks I'm ill or something" '_Good, putting Hashirama as a scapegoat relaxes me' _

Sakura looked at him carefully, like checking for something that might be symptom but in plain eye she didn't see anything.

"Well you don't seem ill" She concluded "But this makes me realize that I must run a check up on all of you shortly." Both men deadpanned.

"But we are fine" Hashirama said a bit scared "really, we feel all right!"

"It's not like you have to go to the doctor only when you feel bad" the pinkette explained wisely "also if you get full medic controls we can know what is 'fine' for you, in order to realize when you're 'not fine'. Do you understand?" she asked, in a both gentle and demanding way. Both shinobi became serious, and sort of speechless. They couldn't debate that.

"We used to do something, in my lost village I mean" she added that last information because Ryuuji didn't know the truth, but she wanted them to know what she was speaking about, and they did so because they nodded firmly "It was called medic records. Every time we got a new patient, that being a grown up person that never came to the doctor or a newborn child, we run some procedures for a full check up to state their whole biologic and health information. I mean, height, weight, scars, old wounds, situation of birth, illnesses and etcetera. That is useful also to check on shinobi if someone tries to henge them or substitute their bodies."

"Woah, never would have thought of that!" Hashirama exclaimed

"Because you never use your brain, idiot" Madara made fun of him, but he didn't let him answer "that is a very important resource to have. Information on our people I mean, to take care of them but also for their security. You're brilliant!" he complimented her. He did it wholeheartedly, trying to overcome his awkwardness. He realized that by being himself like he was with the Senju made things easier around her. He was delightedly surprised to see her blushing by his praise.

"Yeah…" she said a bit uncomfortable scratching the back of her head "It wasn't my idea actually, that method was done in my Village long before I was born, you know"

"That might be true, but if you haven't mentioned it we could have never thought about that" the Uchiha stated. Hashirama cleared his throat, they have forgotten completely about him!

"That's very good, but how are we going to do this?" the Senju asked "We are over six hundred people here and you are the only medic! It will take months to do so!"

"It's great that you asked" she exclaimed all her blush gone by now "we will start with the medic ninjutsu right now." Sakura clapped her hands cheerfully and smirked at them "Bring the fish".

Ryuuji, Hashirama and Madara were stood in front of three small desks with scrolls, ink and a box with water and five alive fish next to every desk. The pinkette was in front of them. She had a small table with the same items, and behind her there was a white wall in which she started to draw some signs with charcoal.

"This is what you're going to write on your scrolls" she said. "It is very important that you do it correctly because it won't work" she looked at the boy "I know we're just starting to work with chakra but we'll be working on this the same as them, just remember they have years of chakra use and control so don't feel bad. You'll start by drawing the scrolls and I will test them, then we'll work on the next step." The boy nodded.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Hashirama enquired.

"Take your scrolls and write this" she pointed at the wall "I'll do it by myself too" and she started to draw gracefully on her piece of paper. Madara finished first, she went to look his work and was surprised to see that his calligraphy also applied on seals drawings. "That's pretty good Madara-san" he was pleased with her praise. She moved onto Hashirama "You need to round more that line Hashirama-san" The Senju was having some trouble with his ink, but he finally managed to get it right. Finally she stepped next to the Koji boy and was surprised to see that he had accurately imitated the sign on the wall. "Well done Ryuuji!" she said "you did this exactly as mine, you really are good observer." The Senju and the Uchiha looked at the boy's work and were also stunned.

"So Cool Ryuuji sempai!" Hashirama cheered.

"Boy you are good at this" Madara said "If you have this good eye you might also have good visual memory, am I right?"

Ryuuji was very uncomfortable with all the praising, but he still answered to the Uchiha.

"Well, yes I do" he said "I like to play memory and find the differences games with Megumi" he explained looking at the floor.

"What are those?" the man asked. The boy looked at him surprised so he elaborated "I'm sorry we didn't have many games to play on our childhood, we were raised for battle since we were even littler than your sister."

"Oh! ..." Ryuuji exclaimed, he had never thought about that "I'm sorry, I didn't know…" he felt ashamed

"Don't apologize" Madara said as if nothing was happening "It was like that for us, but fortunately you had a better time" he patted the boy's shoulder "And that's what we want for all the children in this village" and he smiled to the embarrassed boy "Now, what are those games about?" he looked at the Senju for help.

"Yes! Tell us please Ryuuji sempai" Hashirama got the hint "they seem pretty interesting we only used to play skipping rocks at the river surface and maybe some pissing contest" Ryuuji snorted at that, Sakura too. That outraged Madara.

"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO SAY THAT,IDIOT!" he shot at the Senju.

"Well that was partially true, I mean" his friend said "Though you felt uncomfortable to pee in front of public…"

"SHUT UP!" Madara hit him in his face

"OUCH!" Hashirama cried. They started to shout to each other but stopped when they heard Sakura and Ryuuji bursting into laughter. That's when they realized they were at each other's necks with killing intent. Of course it was a friendly killing intent for them, everybody who knew them did know. And by this time, the pinkette and the boy did so.

"Okay gentlemen" Sakura said wiping a tear from one of her eyes "now let go of your collars and go to your scrolls, Ryuuji will teach you those games on another time." The grown-ups immediately released each other and moved quickly to their posts waiting for her to reprimand them more but that didn't come. She went into full teaching mode.

"The medic ninjutsu training starts with this scrolls, your written seals and fish" she started to explain "Since you are just learning, you're not allowed to do this to a person until you've achieved this step" She took a fish from its bucket and placed it over her scroll on her desk.

Suddenly, with a graceful movement she cut the fish half open and the poor thing kept moving. She immediately started to emanate green chakra and the animal healed completely like it had never had anything wrong. Her 'students' held their breaths astonished.

"This is why we need fish for this" she looked at them "they are the animals with least pain receptors, and also they can endure harm. If the cuts are done fine, they won't even suffer. Just only the motion of the cut" she assured them. "Medic ninjutsu requires excellent Chakra Control, and even though some may be more experienced with chakra in general, there is no dojutsu than can copy it" she looked at Madara "or special chakra that can reproduce it simply" and the she looked at Hashirama. "Both of you have to re-learn how to mold this particular type of chakra"

She put the fish back to the water and then moved in front of Ryuuji.

"As I've told you" she stood serious "You're just starting with chakra, but I'm going to show you and make you experience the feeling so you can seek for it. Please raise your good hand like this" she motioned her right hand in front of her with her palm upwards. The boy did as asked with his left hand and she gently put hers below his, her palm touching the back of his hand. His cheeks became softly red.

'_AH, A NEW RIVAL!' _the voice inside Madara's head decided to appear again, he swallowed hard to ignore it.

"I'm going to let healing chakra flow through your hand, please close your eyes and concentrate on the feeling of it" she started to send chakra and it trespassed the boy's hand and started to emanate from his palm. "What do you feel?" she asked.

"T-this is odd…" Ryuuji said "It's like tickling, but also like a heart beat on my hand. I can feel it on my veins… life." Sakura smirked triumphant.

"Now open your eyes" she ordered softly. When the boy did that his eyes became extremely wide. He didn't know when, but his sensei had retired her hand and there was a small mass of green chakra floating on his palm.´

"I-I… " he was out of words.

"This is your chakra, being pulled out by mine" she explained "that's why you still can hold it. It will only last for some seconds more because you are not used to mold it yet" and as she said so, the green light vanished, the boy's expression fell. "But remember this feeling, and how it pumped through your veins. Your chakra paths are attached to them so it's the same feeling."

She remembered her Shishou when she first showed her the same thing, though it had been her chakra because she could mold it as a genin.

_FLASHBACK_

_The Sannin put her hands over the fish and Chakra started to glow green. In a minute the fish was alive. Sakura watched in awe. "Why do you want to be a medic Nin so badly?"_

'_I feel useless'_ _was her first thought, but she knew that wasn't entirely true. She wanted to be useful, to help the people she loved and fought for her, and she wasn't fond of being treated like a porcelain doll. "Naruto promised to me that he would bring Sasuke-kun back and got badly hurt while trying. He was injured because of me, and I couldn't do anything. When we were ambushed by Orochimaru at the forest and he and Sasuke-kun were hurt, all I could do was to watch over them. I'm always watching him from behind, I want to walk with them shoulder to shoulder." She stated._

_Tsunade looked at her, her brows up showing a bit of amusement. "Ok kid, give me your hand" Sakura did it and Tsunade held it with her palm open facing the ceiling. "Close your eyes and focus. Feel your Chakra through your body; be conscious of it flowing in you. Feel it." Sakura had her brows furrowed and was concentrating hard. "Now think of your chakra moving to this hand, going fluidly to your fingers. Then you have to visualize a change of it, it's not a chakra to fight or destroy, it's a chakra to mend, rebuild, it brings life. You got it?" Sakura Nodded slightly, she was doing a great effort. "Now relax and release it in your hand."_

_Sakura felt an odd shift on her body and then chakra coming out of her hand._

_"Open your eyes" The Sanin said._

_The pink haired kunoichi did as said and watched in awe the green glowing chakra molded in her hand. She smiled, and felt hot tears of joy falling down her cheeks. She looked up to the woman in front of her who was grinning with some pride._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

The pinkette sighed, she really missed her sensei. She shook her head and continued to speak to Ryuuji.

"This will be your homework until you can mold chakra" she said "to feel the life in your hands, in your body, and direct it with your mind to them. When you finally can mold chakra, make it go to your palms and before release it, you change its essence to mend and heal. You got it?"

Her apprentice nodded still astonished by the feeling. He looked at his hand for a moment and started to meditate over the seal. Sakura smiled proudly and then moved in front of Madara.

"Madara-san" she spoke "we're doing the exact same thing, please raise your good hand".

He did so, anticipating the feeling that might come. When her palm touched the back of his hand he had this strange feeling of support, like if that hand will be always there to help him up, and to not fall into darkness. The pinkette, on the other hand, felt her palm grow hot and ticklish. Her heart began to beat faster and against all odds, she could actually stay calm and guide him.

"Please, do as we did with Ryuuji" she asked "Close your eyes, breath and move your chakra to your hand" Madara looked at her as if she was asking for something impossible. She noticed though. "Is there anything wrong?"

"N-no, it's not" Madara said, feeling silly about what he was about to say "It's just that I'm not used to close my eyes in front of people this way. It's like to turn off your best card". The kunoichi understood that.

"Your eyes might be one of your best cards" Sakura retorted "but they are not the best one" his expression changed subtly, but again she caught that "You have many more abilities than just your dojutsu, and also as I've said, it won't help you with medic ninjutsu, just for copying hand signs and scroll ones". The man nodded and she continued "Pleas trust me and close your eyes. Move your chakra to your hands" she smiled at him.

Madara sighed and closed his eyes. He took a big breath and he concentrated his chakra to his hand and left it there. The pinkette felt the energy so she guided him.

"Now that you've concentrated that chakra" she said "you need to change the feeling to it, its destination. Feel that it is chakra gathered to heal" the pinkette heard Madara snort and asked him "what's going on now?" He opened his eyes and removed his hand with an anguish look.

"How can I think that my chakra can heal, if I'm a murderer?" he spat a her.

Hashirama was surprised, because he was actually seeing the Madara he knew speaking. Somehow he had always been shy with the pinkette, even though he had grown more confident around her. Now he wasn't being shy or anything. He was speaking at her like he did with him. That made him feel proud and a bit jealous but not because of her, because had the feeling that his friend might be finding another type of bond that he himself haven't found yet, a partner. Of course it wasn't the time yet with all the village creation and all, but then again, he wanted to find a woman and form a family. His train of thought was interrupted by the kunoichi talking.

"You're not a murderer…" she answered, she knew where this was going and she was not going to lose against his insecurities.

"This isn't right" he said shaking his head in denial and moved a few steps back leaning his back on the window.

"Madara-san, you are not what you say…" Sakura tried to reason with him.

"You don't know how many people I…" He looked at the floor forming fists with his hands, and then he raised them to look at his palms. "How can I even think of using these hands for good, if I've taken so many lives." He was so absorbed on his pain that he didn't feel her coming towards him. And he didn't anticipate her slapping him, until he felt her strong yet gentle hand colliding with his right cheek.

Madara opened his eyes wide. So did Ryuuji and Hashirama. It was the first time he's received a hit like this since he was a little prankster and his mom put him in his place once. He looked at her ready to tell her something.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" he started but he immediately shut up when he saw her eyes.

The pinkette had acted without thinking, but she needed something effective to remove him from the path he was taking. She prepared for worse and looked at him straight in the eye defying him.

Their eyes were fixated on each other's and he couldn't say a word. There was a world behind those green eyes. So many unspoken words, pain, regret. So he waited, to hear what she would say next.

"Don't go into darkness" she said serious, with a small hint of anger in her voice. His eyes couldn't go wider because they had already reached their limit. "You're a shinobi. Death is part of your life."

Nobody dare to move. Madara had more anguish in his eyes, as if he was begging for her to continue. Something inside him needed to hear what she was about to say.

"I know how you feel. I know the responsibility of having someone else's life on your hands and failing to keep them alive" those were his words, she was using them with him. "You have a gift, but doesn't mean you can save everybody."

"T-that…" the Uchiha tried to say something.

"Your words, I'm just sharing some of your own wisdom with you" she smiled softly "I did take lives too, you know? It's not a joke when I say that I can stop somebody's heart with my palms." Her expression fell a bit "I've done it".

Hashirama and Ryuuji sighed with impression.

"Y-you 've killed people sensei?" the boy said scared. She looked at him.

"Yes Ryuuji-kun, I have" she was serious about that. "I am not proud of that, and I don't brag about it. But when you are fighting you can't always win without taking someone else's life. It's part of being shinobi." She sighed "There are some people that just can't be saved."

Everybody understood that she was talking of something else, not just about medical help. She looked again at Madara.

"Have you ever felt pleasure when you killed somebody?" the pinkette asked to him.

"No" he said immediately. Then as an afterthought he added "I do enjoy fighting, that does give me pleasure. The problem is that I always end up killing my enemies…"

"That's another situation" she said "When you have someone in front of you, a Hyuuga, a Senju, whoever you can imagine, and you are not in a battle. Would you attack them and kill them for pleasure?" Madara felt disgusted with the idea and his expression showed it.

"Of course not" he said. "I only enjoy battles"

"Then" she started and took his right hand on hers, his palm facing up and hers below his "You're not a murderer" he sighed at her touch, but not because of the silliness of the crush or anything. It felt like a huge weight had been taken from his shoulders. "Gather chakra to your palm and give it the meaning of life."

He closed his eyes speechless and did everything as said. He focused on the chakra on his hand. _"Life…"_ he thought. He remembered Takato saying that he and Izuna might have died on that last battle. If they haven't arrived there… he wouldn't have had a way to help them _"but I can now. I can help everyone I want to if I learn this. I'm feeling it, the need to protect them brings life to my chakra…"_ The darkness and heaviness that were on his head started to vanish with light.

"Now release that chakra in your hand" Sakura ordered. He did, and opened his eyes surprised by the feeling.

"WHOAA" Hashirama exclaimed, he was already very moved by the exchange between them and seeing his friend achieving that was too much for him "How does it feel?"

Madara remained silent for some minutes, watching the green light glowing in his hand until he realized that the Pinkette had taken her hand off his.

"That is all you" she said knowingly. And something odd happened: He smiled, a genuine smile. His eyes shined with joy.

"It feels…" he started "alive… I mean… it is way too different to the other ninjutsu chakra. It's exciting and pleasant"

"Oh Pleaaase Sakura sensei!" the Senju begged as a child "Now it's my turn!" Sakura laughed, he really was like Naruto. The mood had enlightened.

"Be patient Hashirama-san" she said "let me give him his homework first". The Senju was a little ashamed and nodded waiting. "Madara-san you are going to keep training this chakra change. Once you've mastered it you're going to do the fish exercise that I will teach you when I finish with Hashirama-san"

"It's Okay" he responded absentmindly without taking his eyes of his hand as the energy vanished "I'll wait" He stated calmed.

Sakura moved over to Hashirama and repeated the same exercise she did with the other too. But she had something else to say to him as she supported the back of his hand with her palm.

"You also have another hard work to do here" she said, and he looked at her curious.

"And what is it?" he enquired excited.

"You need to dissociate your healing chakra from the medic chakra" the pinkette explained. "Transferring your particular chakra doesn't make you a medic. It is a great tool to use in a fight if you don't have much time, but medic ninjutsu is more complex and doesn't require the use of the receptor's energy. With the transference you can help shinobi fine, but civilians aren't used to chakra, so it would cost them a lot of their energy to adjust themselves to something foreign." She ended her explanation.

"So if I transfer my chakra to a shinobi, it might help them, but if I do it with a person that doesn't use Chakra it might harm them?" the long haired man asked with concern.

"Not exactly harm them" Sakura said "but if you transfer too much you might put them into a coma, I mean, the would be left unconscious for an undefined period of time."

"But his chakra heals, why can that happen?" Madara, now focused and in a student-like mode, asked.

"Chakra flows with chakra, when it enters to your body it fights at first but then again both are the same type and end up working altogether" she explained "and because of that, what seems that might take less time than medic ninjutsu, ends up taking the same amount of time or more. Civilian's chakra is different, we refer to it more like energy and if they train it kind of evolves to chakra. Meanwhile when their bodies feel something foreign they fight it like a virus or decease. The energy combats the Chakra and in the meantime the chakra heals the body but it consumes everything like fuel."

"Fuel?" Hashirama asked. That might be something from the future. Sakura felt bad because she forgot about that. She was surprised to hear Ryuuji intervening.

"Fuel is a resource that gives energy for some machines to work" the boy explained "it is common in big cities, I've learnt about it in our Village. There are also cities that have electricity, another type of energy that gives light without using candles."

Hashirama and Madara looked at the boy bewildered.

"Light withouth fire?" Hashirama clapped his hands "That seems wonderful! Madara we should have that in this village, and that fuel, we are going to be the future, you'see. Our Village…" Madara looked at his friend and was about to tell him to shut up but he caught a very angry Sakura cracking her fists.

"Hn… Hey Idiot, you better look…" he pointed in the pinkette's direction.

"What? Oh come on don't be a party pooper, you want as much as me for this village to grow and… OUCH!" he shut up because Sakura had knocked him on the top of his head. It wasn't too hard though. That made Madara think, If she really wanted she could have crushed their skulls with her inhuman strength –not that they would allow it though- so this hit and the slap, were just to get attention.

"Stop fooling around and pay attention!" she exclaimed and grabbed his hand. "Do as I've said and try to dissociate your chakra"

"Ow, okay" the Senju said rubbing his head with his other hand and proceeded to gather his chakra. It was a little difficult as the pinkette had said but finally he could feel it, separate it and transform the ninjutsu chakra into medic chakra. He opened his hand and saw the green energy too and smiled.

"Well, you three have already experienced healing chakra." Sakura addressed to the three of them. "Now I will show you what I did with the fish in detail."

Back in the soon to be Hokage mount, Hikari, Megumi and Tobirama had finished lunch. The Takishima told her apprentice to meditate near the border of the cliff and focus on her chakra. While the little girl did what her sensei told, the two grown-ups resumed their talk.

"So, how did you come up with this training?" the albino asked the kunoichi who was checking if her student was seating on a safe spot.

"You mean the "mean" one?" she mocked. He rolled his eyes.

"Of course" he answered.

"Well, when I grew up I wasn't at the village quite often" the Takishima explained "but during the periods of time I was there I used to bug different sensei to help me train. That's why I've sparred with a Hyuuga as I've said. He was a genius…" she sighed.

"Did you befriend him?" the albino was curious, Hyuuga weren't the friendly type of person.

"At some point I did. But he was unsuffarable when he was little" she smiled remembering Neji "Fortunately my cousing fought with him and made him realize that there was more to life than hate. He was from the second branch." Tobirama understood that. Hyuuga had this two type of "branches" related with the heritage and everything.

"Anyway, there was this one sensei that couldn't use ninjutsu, but was like a god of taijutsu" Hikari snorted and he looked at her like she was crazy "I'm sorry, but Guy sensei was very funny and extravagant, and also one of the strongest people I've ever met. He could manage to open the 8th chakra doors in a battle" she said proudly.

"He did what?" The senju asked surprised "Who was he fighting that he had to do that? Did he survive?"

"I can't tell you anything, but he did survive. But just because of Naruto" She put her finger on her mouth as a 'secret' sign.

"This Naruto is really something, it seems" he said disappointed that he couldn't know more. He felt intrigued about this man, and also about the Kunoichi's cousin.

"He really is!" she beamed. "I asked Guy-Sensei to train with him and he was super enthusiast, I mean in a Hashirama-san way enthusiast" he snorted with that, she decided to let it pass "and I trained with him and his team for some months. His students were Lee-san, a boy that also couldn't use ninjutsu but finally became a Taijutsu master like sensei, Neji-san, my Hyuuga friend, and Ten Ten a weapon expert. Guy and Lee always did this training. Every day, and then joined Neji and Tenten that used to spar in the meantime. I sometimes trained with the taijutsu duo, but it was too much for me at that time, so other days I spared with the other two."

"So they were a group that had a sensei…" Tobirama thought out loud "That would do…"

"Beg your pardon?" Hikari asked confused.

"I have been thinking that it would be a good idea to implement a place to train our children, if they want to become a shinobi" he explained "I always thought that the most capable people should be the ones that pass the instruction. It kind of works like that with the Clan, but it would be better if it's done in a place that gathers those in need of training."

"You're actually talking about creating place to teach ninjutsu? Like a school?" the girl couldn't believe it.

"Yes, it will have instructors" the albino answered "I believe Sakura san mentioned something called academy, was that it?" He heard Hikari snort and he couldn't understand why. "What?" he asked, his forehead vein slightly popping out, he was speaking about something serious and she was laughing for kami's sake!

"I'm sorry" she said calming down "It's just… I can't believe I am actually witnessing you thinking of creating an academy"

"WHAT!?" Tobirama exclaimed offended, Hikari shushed him and pointed at Megumi who was perfectly meditating. He lowered his voice but his bad temper remained "You don't think I am capable to come up with an Idea like that? Only Hashirama and Madara can? Am I really such a monster to you?" he didn't know why he said the last part, he was surprised to hear himself saying it, but he found out he was eager to know her answer.

"Hey! Don't say that!" she motioned her hands in front of her defending herself of the accusations "I don't think you're a monster! I am sorry if I made you think that, I know we have not had a good start, but I think you're just as capable as Madara-san and your brother are. Honestly, You're equal to Madara-san to me, in terms of deduction and intelligence. Don't get me wrong, Hashirama-san is bright, but he is a bit thick sometimes, just as my cousin. So you might work well with Madara-san". She saw him roll his eyes, but said nothing. "I was just saying that I have never thought I would be witnessing the conception of the educational system of the Village. You get it, right?"

"Wha-…" he stopped and thought it carefully "Oh…" he said as the realization hit him.

"Yes, it was your creation" she smiled knowingly.

"Did it work?" Tobirama asked.

"It did." She answered. "You might want to solve some points from start to get a better institution, but It will go fine." He sighed.

"It's good to know" he looked at the sky, it was already afternoon. "It's good to know that I am going to give something important to this village. That I will do something meaningful"

"To do something meaningful should be every person's motto" Hikari said simply.

"You know, you compared me with Madara." She looked at him curious "This last month I've been thinking how could being his brother be. They seem to have such a special bond."

"He loves them so much" the kunoichi said looking at the sunset.

"And I might have taken them away…" he said "I would have become the murderer of three of his siblings". He was thinking out loud, the guilt he felt since he heard Takato say that they would have died by his sword during that battle was heavy. It all felt so wrong now.

"You like them" Hikari intervened "The Uchiha Siblings, I mean. And Madara-sa"

"I'm not going to answer that" he looked offended but it was actually a façade. He had opened up to them a little. Specially to Takato.

"It's okay, it's not like I really need your answer to notice that." She winked and got herself up. "I'm gonna check on Megumi, we should finish this training, it's going to be time for my night shift!" and she went to her little's apprentice encounter.

Tobirama looked at them, the Takishima was the proof that things might work out, even though her history was not all happy tales. He thought of Takato and remembered again what his anija told him. Was the Uchiha interested in her? And more important, was he?

**AUTHORS NOTES**

**AHHHHH Love Triangle? Hahahaha you will see. I just love writing Tobirama. No Izuna, Toka or Takato this chapter, but they will be on the next one.**

**Inner Madara seems fun! But he would not be called given an identity like Inner Sakura for he is not always present like pinkette is.**


	23. A normal day

**Disclaimer I DO NOT own Naruto (Sadly)**

As Sakura proceeded to heal her fish, she explained the procedure to her 'students'.

"Once the wound is inflicted, the quickest you attend the injury the best healing rate you have." The pinkette said "But given the fact that most of the times you can't do that, because of the proximity to the patient, a battle or because the patient arrives plenty of hours later, you need to check all the first aid procedures first. Check coloring, heart rate, breathing, state of consciousness. Then you run a check-up – I will teach you that once you can perform medic ninjutsu – and once you establish the priorities you start healing the worst injury."

Ryuuji took notes, Hashirama too. Madara was memorizing everything with his Sharingan. Sakura was right, he could figure out the signs and hand movement, he could also see how the tissue mended, but he couldn't just reproduce the jutsu because he didn't know how to mold that chakra yet. He wondered about if once he learns it, he might be able to copy more intricate techniques.

"If the wound is fresh, you start with the deepest layer of tissue tore apart." Sakura explained as green glowed inside the fish's deep cut. It quickly healed. "This technique is called 'Mystical Palm Technique' and it basically accelerates the patient's body natural healing abilities. Use your healing chakra in a delicate way. Concentrate to fix the wound. If you use too much chakra you can disrupt the body's circulation and put the patient into a coma, as Hashirama-san's healing chakra."

The teenager kept writing everything his sensei said. It was going to be really hard path.

"If there is a hemorrhage," she continued "fix that first. If it doesn't stop, as it happened to Ichigo, run another scan and look for not so noticeable internal hemorrhages. You do as you can with the means you have and wait for a prepared doctor to help you. I won't be teaching you how to operate, just the basics to help you and others on battle".

The men looked disappointed; she also noticed Ryuuji's expression fell a little.

"Ryuuji-kun, I will teach you though" the pinkette smiled "Only if you're interested. I will need more people able to perform surgery when I am not able to."

"Of course I want to learn that!" the teenager answered eagerly.

"Okay, then keep working with your chakra. Meanwhile I'll teach you how to operate without it, just pure civilian medicine" the kunoichi promised.

"Wow!" Ryuuji exclaimed "I can also operate like that?"

"Haha Of course, silly boy!" Sakura replied "You need to learn that way first so then you can do it with chakra. I use Chakra Scalpels, but that is because it's a technique I've mastered. But If I'm running low on chakra, or I need to save it, I do things manually in the civilian way." She touched her Bicep with a tough and proud expression. The boy was smiling enthusiast.

"Anyway, this is how you heal a wound." She continued "When you can figure out this, I'll teach you how to revive a Fish"

"Ohhh Can you show us now?" Hashirama asked. She looked at him a bit tired she thought it was too much information to process. She looked at Madara whose eyes betrayed him, he had the curiosity of a kid. She sighed.

"Okay, but I need to asphyxiate the fish." She explained as she took a living fish and gently stopped his breathing. Her students were astonished. She was not going to let the poor thing to cruelly die outside the water. "Usually, the way to resuscitate a creature that has been asphyxiated is to stimulate the heart or the brain with chakra." She took a new scroll and placed the animal on it. She put her palms over it and concentrated. After a minute the fish regained function and she threw it again into the water.

The three disciples were speechless; the pinkette had done everything quickly and efficiently.

"As I've said" Sakura added "When you use the Mystique Palm you need a fine-tuned method, wich requires pretty accurate and delicate chakra control. If you don't have that, the poor thing will collapse completely and you won't have a chance to save it". As she realized the men were stunned with the action, she added "Perfect chakra control. Now, Start practice!" She clapped her hands and pulled them out of their trance. They immediately got to work.

Once Megumi finished her meditation, Hikari proved some taijutsu movements with the little girl. Tobirama looked at them impressed; the petite apprentice had a strong will to fight and had good moves. Also he could feel her chakra grew more noticeable after the training and meditation.

"Okay!" Hikari said stopping the training "It's time to go Megu-chan"

"Ohhh Sensei!" she moaned "Please let's train a little more"

"I would love to, but I have work at the hospital" the Kunoichi replied "anyway, you need to rest; tomorrow we're going to do the same thing. Also we still need to climb off this rock" she smirked; the little girl lost all color on her face.

The Albino smirked; it felt nice to know that a Civilian little girl was training hard to become a Kunoichi. He couldn't wait to start with the academy idea. He got up and prepared to leave but he heard Megumi talking to him.

"T-Tobirama-san" she called "would you be here tomorrow too?" she had a cute blush all over her face. Hikari raised an eyebrow, and then looked at the Senju who seemed clueless

"I don't want to interfere on your training, Megumi-san" he courteously answered.

"But you won't!" she looked at her sensei for help "He won't, right?" The Takishima snorted.

"If he stays put, nice and quiet he won't" she joked, the girl pouted and Tobirama deadpanned her. "Just kidding, of course he can stay if he wants to. He can even participate" the albino's expression suddenly changed.

"Beg your pardon?" he asked

"I mean, if you want to you can also train with Megumi" she explained and the deadpanning expression appeared again "Oh come on, think of it as research for your Idea."

"Idea?" the little girl asked confused.

"He is thinking of creating a place where kids like you can learn to be Shinobi if they want to" Hikari explained to her apprentice.

"WOAH Really?" Megumi looked at the man with admiration "I will get to go to study there too?"

Tobirama wasn't sure what to answer; he would have to think thigs right and maybe speak with both kunoichi for advice. '_Advice'_ he thought '_It feels weird for me to ask for advice"._

"Yes you will do so" he said "but it's going to take a while, so you need to keep practicing."

"Sure I will" she smiled.

"Then, let's climb off this rock, and finish our perimeter" Hikari said and her little student nodded enthusiastically. "Man, I'm going to be so tired tomorrow, I didn't think this through" she added as an afterthought while they started to walk.

"How long is your shift?" the albino asked walking next to her left. Megumi was following to her right.

"Twelve hours" she sighed defeated, her head low. "But if I don't do this, Sakura might work all day long without resting."

"What about your rest?" he asked.

"It will be restored once I can sleep more. Tomorrow's training will last less, because we know the road now" she explained. "So I think I might get some hours to sleep before going to the Hospital".

"Well, I guess you can pull that out" he said with a plain expression looking forward.

"Um… Thanks?" the Kunoichi said mockingly.

"Hn." He said.

"Oh Kami, you sound like an Uchiha!" she jcked.

"Don't you ever say that again" the look he gave to her was terrifying, and Hikari didn't try to follow the joke, she even paled a little. That look and that feeling were familiar to her. Tobirama noticed that and started laugh wholeheartedly. His laughter got worse when he saw the kunoichi's angry expression.

"You were _joking_?" She exclaimed outraged, Megumi was laughing too even though she knew her sensei was mad, she found the scene very funny.

"Your face was priceless" the albino said "You were pretty scared"

"You should look on a mirror" Hikari crossed her arms in front of her "Psycho…" she added under her breath. He raised an eyebrow but still kept his smirk. "Anyway, we need to run Megu Chan. Say goodbye to Tobirama-san" The little girl seemed down because of her sensei's sudden change of mood and the Senju knew this was his fault.

"I'm sorry I scared you" he said more serious to the Kunoichi taking a step towards her.

"You didn't scare me, don't give so much credit yourself" she said looking to the side, a bit offended.

"Then why were you pale?" he teased but being careful, he didn't want to worsen things more. This was a whole new side of the Nidaime for her, '_so he can also be annoying _'she thought and then sighed.

"You brought back a bad memory, that's all." She said. His attitude had remembered to her of the psycho Tobi, the one who started the war, with his bipolar attitude before Naruto brought him back to the light. '_Oh the Irony, Tobi… Tobirama…' _she kept thinking"Don't mind me" she continued "I'm sorry I overreacted. You were just joking, but your joke seemed too real for me, that's all"

The man looked at her with a calculating look. What had they lived in the future? What happened to their legacy?

"It was not my intention to bring any bad memory back to you" he stated in his old Tobirama way.

"You didn't know, and you don't know." Hikari retorted, he understood she was talking about the future "Don't be sorry for something you didn't do on purpose." He looked a bit down and that surprised her a little. She felt sorry for him. "Do you want to finish with us the perimeter of the Village?" she forced herself to smile so the mood can be lighten up, fortunately she ended up smiling for real when she saw his demeanor change when Megumi begged for him to do so. That had done the trick.

"Okay, let's get down from here" The albino said and led the way to climb off the mount.

They kept running until they finished the perimeter, then he accompanied them to the Hospital. But first Hikari did a quick stop on her home to gather some clothes because she said she would freshen up once she arrived to work. It was little time, only minutes he had to wait with Megumi outside the Kunoichi's home, but he felt it took more time because the little girl didn't stop staring at him, and that made him feel awkward.

"Are those red marks real?" she finally asked a bit shy pointing to her face showing him that she was speaking about his red lines. He was surprised to hear her ask that.

"Hn… No" he said "actually they are marks I made myself"

"Cool!" she said "But why?"

"I…" he started, nobody had never asked him that, but it was a seal he had done to his skin to protect it from the sun. He was suddenly interrupted by the Kunoichi

"Sorry I made you wait! Let's go!" she said and they resumed walking. Megumi like any other child forgot about her question.

Izuna and Takato were approaching to the Hospital; they had been all morning sparring with each other perfecting their kenjutsu. They had stopped by the Uchiha compound and to arrange themselves and arrived at the building early.

Toka was also an early bird, if you could say that during afternoon. She was standing next to the entrance doors waiting. Izuna thought she was waiting for them, but said nothing. He wasn't going to accept the fact he liked the Senju Kunoichi. It could not happen, it was not meant to be. So instead of allowing himself to dream of her being interested in him, he acted mean around her and made fun of her.

"So, doesn't anybody want you at home that you're here so early?" the youngest Uchiha said. Toka smirked at him and he failed to catch the way her eyes brightened up when she saw him because he was looking at his brother looking for a sidekick. But Takato didn't miss it. '_Interesting…' _he thought.

"I must say the same about you Uchiha." She answered haughty "You are even escorted by your brother because he wants to make sure you're leaving your home"

"W-what?!" he spat "He is going to learn with us, you know?"

'_Oh Kami, this two are really something' _the middle brother thought. He was about to say something but sounds of laughter stopped him. Hikari, Tobirama and Megumi were approaching at them, the girls laughing at a slightly annoyed albino, but he could see that behind all that annoyance, he was enjoying himself. A sudden void appeared on the top of his stomach, and he felt his feet cold.

"Oi Izuna-san, Toka-san, Takato-san!" the Takishima greeted waving her hand "You're all early"

"I must leave you then" Tobirama said from her side. "And again I am sorry"

"Oh come on, you didn't have to know what happened" the Kunoichi said looking back at him "don't make me repeat myself, please? You're forgiven." She smiled and her soon to be students were perplex at their exchange. The middle Uchiha started to have a small headache.

"Okay" the albino said serious "see you tomorrow"

"Tobirama –san" Megumi called "then are you going to train with us tomorrow?" she cutely asked.

"I will Megumi-san" he answered. "Thanks for inviting me" he nodded with a small smile to the little girl, and then looked at the rest, serious acknowledge them with a nod. "Good afternoon for you all" and he shunshined from the place. Hikari waved her goodbyes and then looked at the group.

"Well, I'm going to wash up and change" She signaled her and Megumi's clothes "we had a tough training today" she smiled. "Megumi-chan, can you stay here with them as you wait for your brother?" The little girl looked at everybody not sure.

"Come on, you know them all" the kunoichi said "I know Izuna-san can be a bit intimidating, but he is fine"

"HEY" the mentioned exclaimed. Hikari smiled at him. Toka laughed.

"The first time you met this poor girl you were so gallant" the Senju said knowingly "No wonder why she doubts staying with us, she might think you are insane" That made the 'spicy duo' as Hikari had named them start a fight, the kunoichi, Takato and Megumi sweat dropped.

"Eh… Megu…" Hikari said in a lower voice as she took the poor confused little girl next to the other Uchiha "I'd prefer you stay here with Takato-san, he'll take better care of you" the Uchiha looked at her, his headache dissipating a little. "Is it okay with you?" she asked him.

"Yes, it's okay" he answered kindly. She smiled back at him, Megumi looked at her sensei and then the other man. Her sensei seemed to trust him, and so will she.

"Don't worry sensei, I will be fine" she whispered her. The Takishima nodded at the girl and the Uchiha. The spicy duo never realized she was gone, and stopped arguing when they heard Takato speaking with the kid.

"So, Megumi-san, is it?" He asked, he already knew her name, but he wanted to start a talk. The girl nodded shy "How is your training doing?" She stared at him still wary, he changed the question "Are you having fun with your sensei?" Immediately the girl's face lit up

"Yes! Sensei is amazing" she exclaimed "I'm starting to feel chakra; I want to be like her when I grow up!"

"That's good!" he answered kindly "She is a good person and a fine kunoichi, and I'm sure you'll grow up to be like that too" he added knowingly. Megumi blushed at his coment. It was weird, she met two new people today, Tobirama-san that was serious but she really liked him, and then this man, who was kind and spoke to her like her dad or he brother spoke to her. He even spoke well about sensei… '_that might mean..._'

"Do you like sensei?" the girl bluntly asked Takato who blushed and almost chocked with his saliva.

"W-what?" he asked.

"I mean, you seem to like her, you speak nice about her" she explained as it was the most obvious thing in the world. Izuna and Toka were listening carefully and he knew that. How could he answer to this youngling?

"Well, yes I like her" he tried not to sound nervous, but like he was stating a fact, so the little girl didn't get the wrong idea "She has saved a lot of people, and helped creating this village. I am also grateful at her"

"What for?" the girl asked curious, she was starting to speak more casually with him.

"She trusted me" he smiled at the confused kid "During the last Uchiha-Senju Battle, before we started this Village, there were lots of injured people… some of them children." The kid followed his story with attention, and he was pleased "She got really mad at all of us, and called us monsters"

"Even Tobirama-san?" Megumi interrupted. Takato realized this girl was fond of the Senju, and he didn't know why he didn't like it. He preferred not to show it and kept smiling at her.

"Yes, even him" he continued like telling a fantasy story "So I offered to help her"

"You did?" the kid continued asking "What happened?"

"I thought she was right. We really were monsters for allowing little kids like you to go to war" he sighed "I always thought that, so I tried to protect them in battle, but it was hard." Megumi looked at him waiting for him to continue. "She looked at me, like judging if I was someone she could trust with the work and decided to accept my help, so she ordered me to check on the kids. No matter which Clan they were."

"You helped your enemies?" the girl asked in awe.

"Yes, one of them was Ichigo-kun" he smiled at her expression "Remember the one you've met on the inauguration?"

"Oh yes! The one sensei scolded with me" she giggled.

"Yes, that one" Takato pointed. "Together with your Sensei we helped Ichigo-kun until Sakura-san could save him"

"Woaaah" Megumi exclaimed

"So that's why I like her, and also why I know she is a good person." He ended the tale adding "she gave me a second chance"

"You are a good person too Takato-san" the little girl exclaimed wholeheartedly. His smile grew more. "I am sure Sensei knows it and she also likes you because of that. She trusts you" Takato blushed at what she had said, of course she wasn't implying anything, but it was odd to hear her saying that. From the distance Izuna and Toka giggled like children. '_This is going to be a long shift' _he thought. Hikari appeared when he was thanking the little girl for her words.

"Why are you thanking her for?" she asked playing curious. She had made no sound so she sort of scared them.

"Yay sensei you are quick!" Megumi praised. The kunoichi was wearing fresh clothing, black pants, shinobi boots, and a plain dark grey elbow-length cotton shirt. Her hair was tied in a bun on the lower back of her head.

"Haha yeah…" the Takishima scratched the back of her head. "I didn't want to be late."

Meanwhile, Sakura and her students were exiting the building.

After a While of practicing, both shinobi had advanced on their chakra control by separating and molding it differently. Ryuuji was starting to feel chakra on his palms ready to be molded.

"Okay, that's all for today" Sakura Said. "Ryuuji, we're going to continue our chakra training outside near the woods." The boy nodded and went to change his clothes.

"Can we join you?" Hashirama asked "We would like to witness your training; we can also help you with the boy if you want to." The pinkette looked at him a bit outraged so he added "I know you don't need help per se, I mean It might be good for him to find some other spar partners, don't you think?" Sakura considered the idea.

"Well, if you put it that way, I would be a good opportunity for him to learn from others fighter's style." She reasoned "You're welcome if you want to come" she smiled. "But don't let this become a habit because I will get tired of you, or you might get tired of seeing me" The pinkette Joked.

"Don't say that!" the Senju whined "We will never get tired of you, Right Madara?" he looked at his friend.

"You never asked me if I wanted to participate of this, nor even asked Ryuuji-san if he wanted audience" the Uchiha growled at the 'shiny idiot' as he liked to call him. He looked at Sakura and added "but he's right anyway. We'll never get tired of you."

The way he said that made Sakura's heart skip a beat. He had looked at her so intently and yet so sweetly that she would have sworn this was not Uchiha Madara. Had his sibling's deaths changed him so much in her reality? Suddenly her chest felt tight.

"Will you get tired of us?" Madara continued, as he realized she had not given any response yet. She came back to reality.

"That depends on how long will you be meddling on our training" the pinkette smirked. He smirked too; he was starting to feel more confident talking with the Pinkette.

'_Who would have thought that accepting that I like her would made be myself again'_ The Uchiha thought while he motioned to his post to clean it, they had made quite a mess with all the ink and water. '_IT'S JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE GREATEST CONSCIOUSNESS, YOU KNOW?' _his smirk grew wider, fortunately nobody noticed because Hashirama was helping Sakura to store everything. '_Let me be, I don't need you to bother me all the time. Thank you for your help regarding this issue though.' _He answered in his mind '_OKAY, I'LL LET YOU BE, YOU SEEM TO BE FINE AND SURPRISINGLY VERY CENTERED. BUT IF YOU EVER NEED ME, I'M HERE YOU KNOW? I AM YOU HAHAHA.' _ Madara shook his head suppressing a snort. His consciousness was right, he felt surprisingly centered, but having his childhood dream as a reality, with his beloved siblings and his best friend was indeed a great motivation. Also, he might have found someone… '_Well, let's leave that thought there for now…'_

"Ah!" Hashirama exclaimed "Ryuuji-san is good to have you back!" he said to the boy "We're going to join you guys on your evening training, hope you don't mind!"

"Really?" he boy asked surprised. He wasn't shy around them anymore, all those hours sharing with them made him feel more confident. "That's awesome! Will I see you spar?" he asked with enthusiast.

"You want to see us spar?" the Senju asked confused and he nodded "Why don't we spar instead? You and me, what do you think?" Ryuuji opened his eyes wide. Sakura and Madara exchanged worried looks; the shiny idiot might have scared the teen.

"Would you do that? Really?" he was amazed in a childish way, '_I can see the resemblance with Megumi right now'_ Sakura thought. She noticed her student looked at her "Can I Spar with Hashirama San?" She was surprised by the request.

"Um, sure I don't see why not" the pinkette said "If he behaves and don't overdoes it'll be fine" she added looking at the Senju with a scolding look.

"I will be a good boy!" he answered in a pleading pose. A shiver run through Sakura's spine, she remembered Tobi, the masked Akatsuki. That was his typical phrase. It didn't matter that he later became Obito and after Naruto convinced him he helped them. For her, those were two different people. Madara noticed her subtle change of demeanor.

"Are you fine?" he asked her concerned.

"Y-yes, I'm sorry" she apologized "That phrase brought back a not so good memory"

"That I will be a good boy?" the Senju asked "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Oh, come on, how could you knew?" she smiled and waved her hands dismissing the situation. "We must leave, they might be waiting us outside" she change the subject. That made Hashirama and Ryuuji follow her, but it didn't appease Madara.

"There you Are" Sakura said to her friends "the shift was fine, no news actually. Only a few civilians to attend with minor wounds due to the construction, and one kid with tummy ache. We even had time to practice the Mystic palm"

"Woah, that's awesome" Hikari said "Don't worry, if something big happens I'll summon you. Here" she gave her a kunai with a seal in it. "If I need you, this would be replaced with a note." They haven't re done their summon contracts yet.

"Good thinking" the pinkette answered, when she could leave the hospital for some days, she would look out for Katsuyu to sign a new contract.

Suddenly three figures appeared on the road. Two were part of the guards on the entrance, an Uchiha and a Senju, and the other one was an old acquaintance… '_Hamura'_ both girls thought. They had forgotten about him!

"Good afternoon mina –san" they said, then looked at Sakura "Haruno-sensei this man here claims to be related with you" She had to use all her skills to look genuine, so she did a pretty convincible surprised face.

"MATSU!?" She exclaimed and run to hug the newcomer. Hikari followed the farce.

"Matsu-kun!?" the Takishima said also surprised.

"So you know this person?" the guards asked.

"Yes I know him!" the pinkette answered still in high spirits "He's my brother" she said to them and then looked at Hamura/Matsu "I thought you were dead! How did you…"

"I could escape after you both left" he explained, he had worn out his clothes so people wouldn't notice they were from the Uchiha and had also got dirty so it would pass as he had been wandering. "I wandered for days until I could feel your chakra again, but when I arrived to the place, you were already gone. The people in the Merchant Village had moved away. Fortunately I could still track you down, and finally here I am" he smiled broadly with his dirty face. '_Boy, he really is a good actor'_ the girls thought. The Uchiha and Senju were also surprised by his acting abilities.

"So you are Sakura-san brother?" Hashirama played along "I can see a resemblance now. Nice to meet you, I'm Senju Hashirama, this is Senju Toka, at your service" the mentioned nodded greeting him.

"I'm Uchiha Madara and this are my siblings Takato and Izuna." The Uchiha Leader added, it felt weird but it was necessary. "Welcome to the Village. Please expect to be interrogated by our intelligence authority before being admitted here, just for a precaution you know?" he tried to sound not so harsh "This village is brand new and we have some enemies still around."

"Please to meet you everybody" the Ōtsutsuki under covered said "And don't worry, I really understand all what you have said, it seems fair because you need to protect your home."

"I will take you to my brother Tobirama, he's in charge of intelligence, with this man over here" The Senju leader said pointing at Madara. "But Tobi is the one that does interrogation; I hope you don't mind being asked a few questions". Matsu nodded.

"I don't have any problem at all with all what you are saying." He said "Just knowing the fact that you took care of my sister and her friend makes me be at your service" he bowed. Hashirama motioned him to follow him, and they left to the Hokage tower.

"Thank you very much for your help" Madara said to the guards "You can return to your posts now, Sakura-san you'll be reunited with your brother soon I hope you don't mind" The pinkette had to suppress a smile because of his acting.

The shinobi thanked him, greeted everybody and left to continue their works.

"I didn't know that sensei had a brother" Ryuuji broke the ice. The Koji siblings were the only ones that didn't know who Matsu was.

"You heard me," she explained and sighed "I gave him for dead, I wasn't prepared to speak about him so soon."

"That's why sensei seems sad some days?" he innocently asked. Madara and the others looked at her. She felt her cheeks grew hot. It was not actually embarrassment but a kind of it. She felt silly for being caught by her teen student. '_Shisho was right' _she thought '_I wear my heart under my sleeve'._

"That's why" she answered "I miss him badly" she wasn't speaking about Matsu though, and Madara realized that, a knot formed on the pit of his stomach.

"Well you won't anymore!" he exclaimed "so start speaking in the past with that feeling" poor Ryuuji knew what was like to miss someone important. But he didn't know what she was really missing, the pinkette thought. Instead of worrying, she forced herself to smile.

"You're right!" she tried to sound cheery "Well, let's go to continue our training shall we?" she looked at the Uchiha leader "Are you still coming? I believe Hashirama-san will join us later"

"Hn…" Madara nodded being knocked out from his thoughts "Indeed, that idiot will follow us anywhere" he said bored. She genuinely laughed at that, and he felt proud of it.

"Please, go ahead and don't worry" Hikari said "Keep training, You'll be dining with Matsu pretty soon! I'm sure he will be living with us, so we'll have time to catch up"

"Yes, we sure will!" Sakura said "Please summon me if you ever need me"

"Yeah, yeah" the Takishima waved her hands motioning her to leave "would you please just go?" she smirked. The pinkette snorted, turned around shooking her head smiling, and left with Ryuuji and Madara.

"Megu-chan, I thought you were leaving with your brother" Hikari asked to her student. She realized she had barely spoken with her brother while they were talking with Sakura.

"Nii-san told me that he will be continuing his training" the girl answered "So I'll wait here for Grandpa" she smiled. "Can I stay here in the hall?" she pointed inside the building.

"Of Course you can!" the kunoichi said and the five of them entered in the building.

Sakura, Ryuuji and Madara arrived to a big field near the lake, but on the opposite shore from the Uchiha compound. It was a quiet place with a nice pier and the Shinobi assured them they would not be disturbed.

"Ryuuji Kun" the pinkette spoke to him "You know how to meditate. We could use the lake's natural energy, let your feet hang out from that pier and touch the water. Focus on the blue energy you expelled the other time and try to do it again. But always remember this is a process" the boy nodded serious. '_He might be more serious now because of Madara'_ she thought. "We'll stay close waiting for Hashirama-san so we don't interfere with your training."

"I'll start right away" the teen half bowed at the two of them and walked towards the pier.

"So," Madara said "are we going to stand here until the idiot comes?"

"You're too harsh on him" she scolded the Uchiha "Let's seat there under that tree so I can keep an eye on Ryuuji" she signaled some big roots that were coming out from the soil. "Nee? Prefect place!"

They sat down over the one huge root looking at the lake. It was the first time the two were sort of alone together and in spite of being self-conscious, Madara also felt the silence was comfortable. Both were looking at the teen, and without knowing the two of them were remembering their respective trainings at the same time.

"I can't remember how it all started with me and the chakra" he said in a peaceful low voice. Sakura looked at him and realized he was looking at Ryuuji with attention, and his expression was a mixed one, like a painful content.

"What do you mean?" she asked quietly.

"Actually I don't have many memories of my infancy." He said "Not pleasant ones, I mean" he sighed.

"I was born during peaceful times, but we had just been hit with the Takishima massacre and the Kyuubi attack" the pinkette added "But I wanted to be shinobi" he looked at her. Now she was looking at the teen nostalgic. "We had peace, but I was being bullied a lot, so I wanted to be able to defend myself"

"Bullied?" Madara asked. He didn't know what she meant.

"I was teased because of my forehead's size" she pointed hers "And my hair color" she added "Basically the children always thought that I had an unnatural sized forehead, and unnatural bubblegum hair" now she sighed "What a lame motive to become a shinobi."

"Why do you say that?" he asked not understanding "That's not lame, they were being cruel. There's nothing wrong with wanting to defend yourself." He stated.

"I know, but for some people the desire comes from protecting the loved ones, like Hikari did" Sakura explained "It was a poor motive, and then I became pretty superficial when I became a pre-teen."

"Well, it's not good to be superficial, but as you said, you were a child in peace times" Madara said "You had that opportunity, like many of your friends I assume" She laughed softly

"Yes you're right" she said "I had a friend, Ino, and she helped me to be proud of myself. I used to wear bangs covering my forehead" she moved her hear in a gesture to show the bangs "and she gave me a red ribbon as a present to tie my hair and show my face. She said that all flowers had to bloom someday, and I was just a Sakura blossom." She looked at him and smiled remembering her friend.

"That was very wise and nice of your friend" he one sided smiled. "And I assume she was true, because you don't seem to be bud anymore, you're more like a young Sakura tree"

She opened her eyes wide, was he complimenting her?

"You beat Ino, she always thought of me as a flower but never as a tree" she giggled.

"Why are you laughing?" he tried to sound offended "It's a good thing to be a tree, you are not as ephemeral as a flower, you have steady and strong roots, and you can bloom lots of flowers and fruit" he said looking at the tree behind them, caressing its crust. "For me it's better to be a tree than to be a flower" he simply said. That took her breath away.

"That might be the nicest thing someone has ever told to me" she looked at him surprised. He couldn't help the soft color that crept over his cheeks. And this time there was no interruption, she continued looking at him like she was trying to solve a puzzle, and that made him feel more aware. '_FIGHT MADARA UCHIHA'_ his inner voice shouted to bring him back to reality. He cleared his voice and regained his more confident self.

"I can't believe that" he said joking "They might have been blind" he added gallantly. Now she was the one that blushed, and that reversed situation made the Uchiha feel better. "I mean, you are a tough kunoichi, you're not a gentle flower, you are strong, still gentle, but strong…" he stopped because he saw her eyes were watery. "What's wrong?" he tried not to sound rude. She wiped the corner of her eye; there was indeed a tear there.

"It's nothing, really" she said "It's just that after a while I stopped being superficial and wanted to be strong. I wanted to be acknowledged because of that"

"And now you can destroy a mountain with your bare hand" he raised an eyebrow.

"Not bare, I need a glove to protect my hand to do that" she said joking.

"Well, yes, of course" he followed.

"I had for years my Nindo wrong." She said now looking again at Ryuuji, the boy was a good distance away from them and couldn't listen anything. "First was to defend myself, then to be acknowledged by my teammates, but finally I realized it was because I wanted to save the people I loved. Like Ryuuji here, like you guys. We all want the same thing" she sighed "It took me sixteen years to get there."

"Then why are you so down?" Madara asked "Your compass worked fine in the end"

"I don't feel proud of my old self" she answered.

"You are your past, but at this moment you are Sakura from this present… Sort of" he smirked, and she giggled "Our past will always haunt us, if we don't make amends with it. Forgive yourself for being shallow, like I have to forgive myself for all the blood my clan and I charged upon myself."

"I think you're being too extreme" Sakura said "But I understand your point".

Hashirama was approaching to them smiling, he was alone. He had left Matus/Hamura with Tobirama and he will be joining them later when they go back to the Hokage tower. Ryuuji had just stopped meditating and was feeling his chakra better by now. He was up and was walking towards them.

"So Ryuuji-sempai…" Hashirama said "Shall we start?" he smirked.

Ryutaro-san had picked Megumi up and congratulated everybody for their hard work. For him that so important shinobi were up to learn how to heal people from his Village was more than he could hope for. When he left, the four ninja started to work.

"Man, he really is a cheery man" Izuna said "It's like a Civilian Hashirama"

"And I never thought there could be anybody worse than him" Toka sweatdropped.

"Well you don't know Naruto" Hikari smiled a bit sadly "He was a shiny idiot too, and like Hashirama-san he did great things"

They were healing minor wounds, doing bandages and learning some uses for herbs to make some ointments. Hikari was checking how they cleaned wounds and bandaged everybody. She passed next to Takato who was tending a woman with an injured child. Some boiling water had fallen on one of his foot and was hurting badly.

She looked how he healed the kid with the little resources they had left, but the Uchiha seemed to know what he was doing.

"Wow, you did manage this quite good" the Takishima said to him, smiling to the little boy and his mother. "What is your name boy?" the little one was still crying in pain even though the wound was correctly treated. "Don't worry, it won't pain anymore" she put her palm over Takako's hands that was finishing the bandage, he stopped working surprised. She released healing chakra and the boy suddenly stopped crying.

"I won't heal you, because it's better for you to heal by yourself, but I made the pain go." The kunoichi said to the boy and then looked at the mother "Do you know what a willow is?"

"Yes, it's a tree" the mother answered.

"Good, you need to get some bark and sap of it, mix it with rosemary and boil it" she explained. "Then you strain it and crush it to make sort of a salve. Use the cool strained water to clean the wound and then put the salve on it" The woman nodded.

"There's a Willow near the lake next to the Uchiha compound. Talk to Uchiha Kido and tell him that Takato sends you" the Uchiha said to the woman.

"That's wonderful" the woman said "Thank you Uchiha-sama"

"Not a problem" Takato said "but please no Sama, just Uchiha-san is fine" the woman nodded and grab her little boy.

"Arigato Hikari-sensei" she greeted the kunoichi while she left. The girl waved her goodbye and then looked at the Uchiha.

"Way to go Takato-san!" she complimented again "did you have training on this? I remember you tended very well of the wounded on that battlefield"

He didn't want to remember that scenery again, but in the end, it was the place where he had met her.

"Yes, Okaa-san used to teach me some minor aids because my siblings always seemed to wound themselves" he joked, "What you did with your palm… that felt pretty weird" he added.

"That's what I am going to teach you now." She clapped her hands and went to find Izuna and Toka. There weren't any more cases that needed more help that the one the civilian nurses couldn't handle so she took her new 'apprentices' to another room, the one Sakura used in the morning.

"Cool!" Toka exclaimed "now the interesting thing starts!" she looked at Izuna who had a concerned look on his face "what's going on?" she asked him. Takato and the Takishima looked at him too. The youngest Uchiha looked at Hikari.

"What were you doing with Tobirama Senju?" he asked serious.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

**Hi everybody! I've been planning all this fic and I have material to write some more chapters on this complex days. Hope everybody is safe, and a cure will be find soon . Take care and comply with safety rules. **

**Back to the fic, these chapters are hard to write because they are going to be filled with emotions. Our characters are starting to really know each other, and some things might be blooming. **

**About the Willow thingy, it's not a real recipe but Willow was the base to our actual aspirin, and Rosemary is known to be antiseptic, so I made up things.**

**Thank you ania980 for you lovely and great review! To answer some stuff, Zetsu will appear but not so soon, a little more develop needs to be made, and I have lots of character to introduce first. Even though this is a romance fic I plan not to put too much drama on it, I just want to make things feel true, It also won't have smut, I don't have problems reading but sometimes I thing is not actually necessary to the plot growth. I love Tobirama, I love TobiSaku, but MadaSaku is just awesome for me. ItaSaku too, but in this case was sort of ItaHika and well… you'll find out with whom she ends up. Don't worry; the other one will be fine. I look forward to write Mito, there's so little about her, and I have a whole idea of her character.**

**Please someone help me with the summary, I tried to improve it, but I keep failing LOL **

**Quick Question How do I call Hamura when I write? Matsu or simply Hamura?**

**Read you soon, keep safe.**

**Bella**


	24. Uncomfortable chats

**Disclaimer I do not own Naruto.**

Recap:

"_**What were you doing with Tobirama Senju?" he asked serious.**_

"What?" Hikari counter asked surprised. "Why do you ask that?"

"You were laughing and he seemed to be having a nice time" Izuna said "That does not seem Tobirama at all"

"You think he had an ulterior motive?" the Takishima joked. The youngest Uchiha crossed his arms.

"You still haven't answered my question…" he said.

"I was training with Megumi and we found him on top of the Mount" she explained "he was meditating"

"And he didn't leave when he felt you?" Izuna kept asking. Toka and Takato exchanged looks confused by his actions.

"He said he felt us but stayed because he was curious" Hikari said "I had felt him too but I assumed the same, that he might leave" the Uchiha stayed silent "I don't see the point of all this questioning"

"It's not like him to be curious" he said "And now he's going to train with you guys?"

"Megumi invited him; she seems to like him" The Takishima started "Could it be that you are jealous?"

"Excuse me?" Izuna's face reddened a little "Why would I be jealous, enlighten me?" he said sarcastically crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. The other two were expecting Hikari's answer too.

"Because you don't want me to befriend him" she said simply "You and me started almost the same way I started with Tobirama-san" Toka snorted and the Uchiha preferred to let that pass "And you don't want to lose me as a friend". Izuna was dumbfounded

"Y-you consider me a friend?" he asked.

"Um yeah" Hikari answered "Sort of". He sighed from relief, but keeping true to his personality he maliciously mocked her.

"So you are that kind of person that after only 3 weeks maybe a month befriends strangers that started being hateful to them?" he sarcastically asked. She was upset by his statement, she was not like that, but they were different, she couldn't explain it even to herself.

"Why you…." She started in anger and then also sighed. It was not that she had not thought the same; it was odd to befriend them so quickly. "You're right. I'm not usually like that, but now it seems I do" she looked a bit down and that made the Uchiha lower his façade. There was a small pause and she added "But tell me which other options I have left? We have nobody here" her voice was shaky, and Izuna suddenly felt utterly bad. That was true, and he had not thought about that.

"Hey, cheer up" he walked over to her and grab her by her shoulders "I am just joking around woman" he smiled kindly and as Hikari blinked some tears fell through her cheeks. Seeing her crying, well not actually crying because they were only some lost tears, made Takato angry. His otouto had reached a limit.

"You're an Idiot" Takato said to his brother "You're only being mean to her, and she's only been nice to you since you made peace" he was so serious that Izuna gulped.

"T-Takato-san, it's not that…" Hikari tried to defend his brother and that angered him more.

"Don't defend him Hikari-san" he said firmly "he needs to understand that is funny being sarcastic, but there are times that he hurts people" he looked at his brother again "You can be really insensitive you know" The Uchiha siblings had had lots of silly fights, but Izuna knew his brother well and the seriousness he emanated remembered of the few times he saw him truly angry. That made him feel like a child that had done something wrong.

"I'm sorry" he said lowering his head "I didn't mean to be hateful, I just acted that way because you said I was jealous of Tobirama and all the friendship stuff, it was a stupid pride thing" he said a bit embarrassed

"It's okay Izuna-san" she wiped the treacherous tears that fell on her cheeks as the Uchiha let go of her shoulders "It's not that I haven't thought the same. This is odd, but I think I may know why it's easier for me to befriend all of you. I can't say much, but we already knew Tobirama-san and Hashirama-san…" the trio gasped at her in surprise "Ah... because of academy text books I mean" she added, it would have been disastrous to explain them the Edo tensei thing and stuff.

"Does Nii san appear on your books too?" Izuna said talking about Madara.

"Yes he does…" Hikari tried to sound better "But actually our history doesn't say much, only that they were the founders of the Village and stuff. I've always admired them" she lied a bit there, she had only admired Nidaime sama, everybody said Hashirama was a Shinobi god but she could see that his brother was behind of every advance in the Village. With Madara… well, during the last part of the war she could see that he had only wanted peace, not power per se, and his people gave their backs to him. Now knowing him like he originally was made him feel almost like a relative, he was intelligent, kind and fun to be with. But she wasn't lying that the history books were very poor though, and in their time, he really became a monster. His sibling's passing had really destroyed him, she thought.

"Wow, that's great" the youngest Uchiha said, he didn't sound like himself yet, but the conversation was better. Even Takato's demeanor had softened a little.

"And you, Izuna-san" she put a hand on one of his shoulders now "You make me remember of a friend I've lost" the mentioned was surprised of that "It's like you are a reincarnation of him" she joked "Because you have the same wicked sense of humor, but in the end you're both pretty soft" Izuna blushed notoriously with that.

"Hn" he coughed to control his voice, he was not going to admit that he felt odd when she spoke about her friend "For your information I am not soft" he said serious and Toka and his brother suppressed a smile "But I guess I can acknowledge the fact that you like me that much because of the resemblance with your friend" he smirked now "What was his name?"

"Shisui, Uchiha Shisui" she smiled. Takato and Izuna were shocked to hear that. The Uchiha hadn't been kind to this girl, and yet she had a friend in the clan.

"It seems that not all Uchiha were bad to you" he smiled

"True, Shisui and Itachi-kun were my best friends" she said smiling tenderly. "Aside from Sakura and my cousin"

"Ohhh" Toka intervened to rise the mood up "Soo now you're also mentioning Itachi-_KUN_" she said emphasizing the 'kun' treatment "You seem to be pretty fond of him, did you like him?" she elbowed in the ribs. The Takishima's face was red as a tomato; Takato got again that feeling of void in the pitch of his stomach.

"I-I..." Hikari started to say. Izuna could realize that his brother was expectant to that answer, it was subtle though. He was sure his brother liked this girl, and after he heard him talking with Megumi and the face he did when he also saw Tobirama with the Kunoichi –one that of course Izuna was the only one to notice – he began to think he might be developing feelings for her. This was not the moment of heartbreak so he intervened.

"Don't be so nosy Toka!" the youngest Uchiha reprimanded the Senju "If she likes him or not, that is not your business"

"You are as nosy as I am!" she started to fight him. As they engaged in a verbal fighting Takato sweat dropped and got closed to Hikari, he spoke to her in low voice

"I hope my brother does something with the prohibition of having a relationship outside the clan" he said serious, and the Takishima didn't know why her heart seemed to skip a beat when she heard him saying that "If not, this one is going to be a sad bachelor for the rest of his life" he added pointing to his brother.

"You think so?" she answered as if nothing happened '_Kami, why did that comment made me so nervous?' _ She thought. "How long is this been going on?" she pointed now the spicy duo as she liked to call them.

"I have a theory, but I am not really sure…" he whispered.

"Wow tell me later please, it's been long since we last talked" she answered referring to their letters and the added giggling "It seems we are nosier than them"

The duo stopped fighting when they heard Takato and Hikari laughing. All the middle Uchiha's worries disappeared when he heard her referring their exchanges.

"What are you two laughing about?" Toka said catching her breath.

"We were saying you look like Madara and Hashirama fighting all the time" The middle Uchiha quickly lied. Hikari nodded energetic compelling.

"Please don't compare me with Hashi" the Senju kunoichi sweat dropped "I do love him as a brother, but hell no!" They all laughed at that. The Takishima felt good around them. She had some friends in her time but not a group like this, though she preferred not to think Takato as a friend yet. She wasn't sure what she felt, but she knew she liked him. She hoped she could have more time to hang out with him, but now it was not the time. She shook her head.

"Okay" Hikari said "Shall we start?"

"Hai Sensei" the three of them said in unison.

* * *

Hashirama was surprised that Ryuuji was doing some katas to warm up. He had never seen someone doing that despite of Wata San, Ichigo's Grand Mother. She used to do these body movements she said were an ancient technique.

"Did you teach him this?" the Senju asked to the pinkette

"Yes, my sensei taught me that" Sakura said "They were an ancient technique" Hashirama looked at her astonished.

"Was your Sensei a Senju perhaps?" he tried to get more information on her. She didn't show many signs but her eyebrows went a little bit higher, so he assumed it might be true. Madara thought she would feel bad if he started enquiring about her past so he intervened.

"Why do you assume that, baka?" he said feigning pride "You are so full of your Clan, it can be from anybody. The Uchiha also have a sort of kata style, but not everybody practices"

"You have?" Hashirama and Sakura asked in unison. "Pleaaase show me" the Senju begged "You have never told me this" Madara hmped and looked to the side.

"I won't" he said "I was never good at that"

"But you can show us and I can help you improve it" the pinkette said "Katas are also relaxing, and help our mind to focus"

"Hn…" the Uchiha said "Let me think of it, I don't know If I want to risk the shame" he smirked.

"Okay!" Sakura said knowingly she realized her student had finished and talked to the Senju "Hashirama-san Ryuuji has finished his Kata. Maybe some other day you can ask him to teach you" she was really grateful to Madara for helping her avoid the Senju Teacher question, but she was sure they had realized something.

"Ryuuji-san" The Senju called the boy "Can we spar now?" he requested.

"Sure! " He said "Just taijutsu is fine for you?" he politely asked "It's the only thing I can do for now" The teen was starting to be more confident with the elders

"Let's go for Taijutsu then!" Hashirama beamed. Madara and Sakura went back to seat under their tree.

"Don't be too harsh on him!" The pinkette shouted.

"I won't!" The Senju answered.

"I was talking to Ryuuji" she mocked.

"You're a tease too" the Uchiha smirked at her.

"Let me enjoy life!" the kunoichi laughed. Hashirama from the distance was looking the whole scene, '_Oh, for kami's sake! They look so cute together!' _he thought and giggling he faced the teenager who was already in battle position.

The Senju started the fight, he run towards the boy and threw his right fist directly to the boys head. Ryuuji dodged with a little difficulty, but he realized with that that Hashirama wasn't going easy on him. A sense of pride filled him and he respected him more.

The Koji boy dodged two more punches and then he received a kick on his left side that threw him some feet away leaving him without air.

"Oh Ryuuji-san, are you okay?" the man asked worried "I didn't mean to hurt you"

The teen was catching his breath as he tried to stand up.

"You think it's good that the Idiot fights your student?" Madara said to Sakura at the distance "He is not going full force, but he's also not going easy. He might hurt him badly"

"If he does, I'll heal Ryuuji" the Pinkette crossed her arms and looked at the boy intently. "Don't underestimate him. I beat him up every day." The Uchiha's eyes went from her to the youngling. '_Kami, she might be an insane teacher'_ he thought.

"Okay, you know him better than anyone I guess" he answered staring at him too.

When Ryuuji finally stood up, he looked at his sensei and then to Hashirama. He took a deep breath and charged towards him ready to hit him. When the Senju was forming his defense to stop him, the boy changed strategy and connected a reversed lateral kick on his rival's jaw, who fell hard because he wasn't expecting that.

"Whoa!" Madara exclaimed. He had never seen someone beat Hashirama aside of him. Of course he was far from winning, but the impressive thing was that the boy could catch him off guard. And that reversed kick was wicked. Sakura eyed him and smirked.

The Senju rose up, he had a little of blood on the corner of his mouth because he had bitten his lip, but he was smiling broadly.

"That was awesome!" he celebrated, and charged again against him. Ryuuji dodged some more punches, blocked a pretty harsh kick and then something wonderful happened.

Hashirama tried to hit him attacking _yokomen uchi_ to the side of his neck and the boy caught his wrist with his outer hand following his movement, the Senju was obliged to follow his attack trajectory because the energy of his punch kept him moving, Ryuuji had lowered his tan-tien forcing him to lower himself too. Then the teen put his free hand opened over Hashirama's inner elbow. He did a simple step to the front pushing lightly his opponent's arm and the Senju flew over his own body and fell to the ground.

Madara got up as a reflex and Sakura was pleased to see his amazed expression.

"Nee… He really can dodge and do some wild some stuff" she said from her spot "That's the basis of field medic training, to dodge. And if you can harm your opponent in the meantime, the better. He might have no Chakra abilities right now, but he sure is quick learning Taijutsu"

"Sugoi…" the Uchiha whispered.

Hashirama kneeled in the floor, catching his breath. That technique had surprised him even more than the kick, and the hit of his poor fall took all his air out of his lungs. He had grass all over his hair, but was smiling happily.

"I don't want to repeat myself, but that was indeed awesome" The Senju praised Ryuuji. "You need to teach me that!" Ryuuji scratched the back of his head.

"This is all I've learnt since I've started with Sakura-Sensei" he said embarrassed "I know would never be a match to you nor Madara-san, but I will fight for you and for this village. I will get stronger!" he offered his hand to the Senju, not to help him stand, because he didn't need that, but as peace offer. Hashirama took it acknowledging him. Sakura stood from her spot and walked towards her student.

"The will of fire…" she said as she passed next to the Uchiha. He looked at her absorted. '_The will of fire… it doesn't have to be a shinobi yet to feel it.' _He thought '_Interesting_…"

"Sakura-san" the Senju said to her "Please teach me that!" he begged.

"Umm, I'd prefer not" she said, and seeing the Senju's long face she elaborated "You can't' take all the time of my trainings with Ryuuji you know?" she thought further "Maybe he can show you, since he is learning, it will serve him as a practice. Are you okay with that boy?" she asked her student.

"Sure, I'll be honored" he said proudly.

"Okay, you can start by explaining him the attacks you've just used" the pinkette said as she returned to the tree. "Are you going to train with them?" she asked to Madara as she sat again on the root. He considered it for a bit, but he chose just to watch for today.

"Not today" he said "If you don't mind the company, I prefer to watch". Sakura signalized the root next to her and he took that as an invitation to sit down. Soon Hashirama and Ryuuji were immersed on practice.

"Have you spoken about the Village's leadership" the kunoichi went straight to the point, taking him by surprise.

"Hn" he answered "Actually, not yet. With all this training and stuff, we haven't met to arrange that"

"You have to decide that soon" she said looking at him and then directing her sight to the Senju "People need leadership, and also if you want to open the Village to new clans and commerce, you need representation"

"You're right" The Uchiha said "I think we're a bit dumbfounded with the concretion of our Village that we haven't think of welcoming new clans yet. We still have roughness in relationship between the only two." He sighed "Maybe we need a person like you to point us out stuff we're not seeing or taking on account"

"That is my job!" Sakura said, and he looked at her "I mean…" she said "I have worked on the same stuff, that was my job"

"You served the Hokage, right?" Madara asked. She had mentioned something similar some days ago.

"Yes that's true, Her right hand was Shisune san, my sempai who was a very well trained medic and friend, she was her first apprentice and used to travel with her before she accepted the work" she explained, "I was her second right hand, if something like that exists" she smiled "She took me as an apprentice and taught me most of the things I know, and when she realized I was able to understand some complicated stuff, she used me to help her with all the paperwork. Fortunately, she also taught me political protocol."

"Wow, you're definitely a very prepared woman" Madara said but he didn't say it as compliment.

"I have the feeling that that seems to surprise you…" Sakura continued not amused "don't tell me you are a male chauvinist…"

"A what?" the Uchiha looked at her disoriented.

"A man that thinks women cannot be prepared or be their equals" the pinkette explained "Also that they have less rights than men and sometimes no rights at all" The face the man did was all Sakura needed to realized she had understood his statement wrong.

"How can that be possible?" he said outraged

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to…" she started

"Don't apologize" he calmed her "I wasn't talking about myself; I was referring to what you were saying. I know men that think women are weaker, I sometimes thought so in terms of brute force but then again women endure so much pain all their lives that that showed me their strength lays on other terms of biology. Oka-san gave birth to five kids, all by herself and with the help of her best friend. My dad would feel he was dying if he had a simple cold" He added proudly "Also I've met you and you proved me wrong on the brute force thing. I know that if you put all that super strength of yours to work you might kill me in the most painful way." She giggled at that "I just can't believe to be possible there are men think women have less or no rights, that's all." He felt a bit aware when he saw the way she was looking at him.

"I'm pleasantly surprised of what you've said" Sakura added "I thought that maybe because of the era…" she stopped when she heard him sighed.

"I won't lie to you" Madara said "Some of the old hags of the council do think that way. But my generation grew up with Uchiha women defending the camps and becoming fine kunoichi. So for us is natural to see women as equals." He saw her nodding taking what he was saying "What surprised me was that you truly are really prepared, more than I have already thought. And that's wonderful. You should be the Hokage" he smiled. Her face became red as a Tomato and pretty nervous.

"Um, no, no, no" she said. "Thank you for your words, you don't know what they mean to me, but I am not capable to be a Hokage. I am no leader"

"Why not?" he asked amused "You have the knowledge, the strength and you know how to teach, that is similar to lead. Didn't you have other medics at your charge?"

"Yes, but…" she started

"Then I don't see the point of saying that you are not capable, nor a leader" he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. She became silent, still red, but silent. She had never thought about that. The way he put it, it didn't seem an impossible thing to do. But it didn't feel right. He didn't disturb her musings and also remained in silence enjoying the spring breeze. Hashirama was deeply concentrated on whatever Ryuuji was explaining to him, and Madara found himself for the first time in years, maybe in his life, completely and truly at ease. His attention returned to her when he realized she was ready to answer.

"You know, I have spent most of my life feeling little and not able to do stuff." Sakura started, he raised both eyebrows in surprise now "I knew I was bright, but they always were ahead of me. Naruto and Sasuke-kun I mean. I always thought they had left me behind. Then Shishou became Hokage and I wanted to be trained by her. She was a very renowned kunoichi worldwide, but still I did it to catch up with them. Even when I became the strongest I could become" she looked at him and signaled the diamond on her forehead "I was able to fight by their side for minutes, because they always were years ahead from me." She made a pause and Madara, despite of having lots of questions remained quiet.

"In some point of the journey I realized that I had been foolish, because the thing was that I really wanted to protect them. They were my team, my family. And they were like Hashirama-san and you, friends and rivals. But their relationship became darker and they almost killed themselves twice. In their last battle they even lost an arm each." She heard the Uchiha gasp, she didn't know why, but she had the need to tell him this story "I arrived at the battlefield and stopped the hemorrhages. Sasuke-kun apologized for all the bad things he had done to me during our adolescence, and I knew it. I wanted to save them. I always wanted that. Not to catch up, not to be a leader, not to shine alone. I wanted to be the strength for them to shine. So I don't want o nor will I ever want to be a Hokage. I want to help from the side, to protect this village and its people." She stopped her long speech smiling sheepishly "Fortunately, I was already on a good path, because I was already the second best doctor in the Village behind the Hokage."

Madara had the urge to hug her but he could control it. He wanted to know more about her. He needed to. But he wanted to take things slow. This was so new to him, that he didn't understand his feelings and himself completely yet. He opted to speak to her like they had been talking all evening.

"You know I have a lot of questions of what you just said, don't you?" he stated. Sakura nodded smiling "Promise me some day you will tell me more about your story. I won't interrogate you right now"

"I promise" she said raising her right hand. She somehow was sure she will anyway.

"Let me ask you only two things, would you?" he enquired

"Hn" she nodded, she was starting to sound Uchiha, Madara laughed in his mind.

"This Sasuke is the same boy that called you annoying when you were little?" the Uchiha asked that gently because he remembered it was a sensitive matter. Fortunately, instead of being upset the kunoichi was startled with that question.

"Yes he was" she answered, not understanding why he wanted to know that. She could see he was piecing things together in his mind. Kami, he was intelligent.

"Okay, that explains some things I guess" he thought out loud.

"Beg your pardon?" Sakura asked still not understanding.

"I mean, this Sasuke was an Uchiha. If I remember correctly, the little brother of Uchiha Itachi, Hikari-san's friend" he explained.

"Wow you're fast" it escaped from her mouth and she suddenly covered it, he looked at her amused "I'm sorry, that was rude. But you sure can put things together quickly. You also have a great memory." He waved a hand with feign humility and she laughed. "Which is the other question?"

"What is that diamond in your forehead?" he didn't want to be impolite so he pointed his instead. Sakura was taken aback with that question. She knew it was her sensei's technique, and she had used her grandmother's technique as a Kickstarter. But Mito Uzumaki was not in the picture yet, so she wasn't sure what to say. 'What will happen when she appears and sees my seal?' she thought.

Given that she had taken a pause, Madara thought that she didn't want to answer.

"Okay, I'll think of another one" he said

"No, please. I'm sorry" she stopped him waving her arms "I needed to think something." He looked at her expectant. "This is a seal, it's called Byakug_**ō**_ no in or the one hundred strength seal. It's a chakra sealing seal. I've been storing chakra since I've started training with Shishou since I was 13. When I was 17 I achieved to fill it and could release that strength"

"That's from where you extract your brute force?" he asked surprised.

"Ha-ha no, actually that is a technique also taught to me by my sensei." She explained "I have perfect chakra control, and I've learnt to pump it and canalize to my extremities to use brute force. But if I release my seal and hit something with that technique… well let me tell you the Hyuuga crater would have been wider." Madara paled a little "Anyway, this has another technique, fully created by Shishou that makes all that gathered chakra to quicken the cellular restoration making you practically unbeatable in a battle."

"Have you ever needed to use that?" he asked thrilled. She gulped, yes of course she remembered. Without noticing she touched where side where the man in front of her had impaled her. She shook her head. It was not the man in front of her; it was another version of him.

"Yes, I have" she said quietly "I won't talk about that though" she heard him sighed "But I need to trust you something. Please promise me you will never talk about it with anybody, except me, Hikari or Hamura" the hurriedness in her voice startled him. He nodded quickly. "The thin is that this seal might have been invented by a person of this era. A person that I don't know when, will become a part of this Village. When that time comes, I might need your help to cover things up"

"I will help you" he said slightly understanding her predicament "and I promise I won't tell" he raised his hand "But that is an awesome technique. You are indeed more than you want to show the world." He complimented her directly.

"Cool" she said a bit embarrassed. "Now, about the Hokage thing, have you ever thought of becoming it yourself?" Madara gasped.

* * *

Hikari had spent two hours showing and explaining how to mold healing chakra. Of course she didn't explain it as Sakura did but it still did the charm. She made the three of them to create a small chakra ball on their hands. They compelled and then she did the same. She explained how one needed to change the intention, it was Chakra that will be use to mend, heal and bring life. As she said that the tiny chakra on her right hand became green and covered all her palm.

"Nee?" she said "This is how it's supposed to look, but you already know that. You need to work on changing the chakra you will use and adjust yourselves to it. It will require you perfect chakra control. All medic ninjutsu is based in that, so if you don't have it," she said as she walked in-between them "you need to improve that first."

After all that time, none of them could mold their chakra differently. Izuna had almost achieved it but got deconcentrated at the end. She remembered when Tsunade-sama taught her the basis while she lived with Ero-jiji. It was a more relaxed training because it wasn't formal training per sé.

_Flashback_

"_Come here kid" The blond called Hikari, she knew that brat Kei had had a daughter but she hadn't been interested in learn more, that prophecy thing was troublesome. "How old are you now?"_

"_I'm 15 Senju-sama" she said shyly._

"_No Senju-sama, call me Tsunade… wow you're an adult now" she walked around her looking her from head to toe. "You seem to have plenty amount of chakra, despite of that Ōtsutsuki thingy" the woman was still a bit inebriated even though she was with hangover._

"_Show me what you know" and she put herself on battle pose. Hikari gulped but instead of chickening she put on guard. Tsunade charged against her and Hikari did the same. The latter saw the Slug sannin's mighty punch coming towards her face so she closed her eyes and tried to apply a bit of chakra to her fist. She never felt the punch connected though, she opened her eyes while she was approaching and saw with utterly horror how her fist punched the Senju's face. _

"_Oh Kami" she took some steps back and fell backwards. "I-I'm sorry Tsunade-sama I-I didn't mean to"_

"_WHOA Kid you've got nerve" the blonde exclaimed. She walked to her and the teenager was shivering inside. Once the woman was in front of her, Hikari expected the worse and again closed her eyes as reflex, but again the worse never came. When she opened her eyes she saw a hand in front of her. Tsunade was offering it to her to get up._

"_Don't be afraid girl, that doesn't suit you." She scolded her "You have the potential needed to become a great shinobi, you just need tutoring. This old hag here might teach you stuff, but I will teach you to become a kunoichi. You are a Chuunin, am I right?"_

"_Yes" the girl said as she took the hand the woman was offering._

"_I will show you Healing chakra" she took her hand and guided Hikari to a rock; she released her and motioned to sit down there. "Now, watch this" Tsunade put her hand in front of her, palm facing the sky. Suddenly green charka emanated from it. The Takishima was astonished, that made the Senju smirk. "Touch it" she said._

"_What?" the teenager asked confused._

"_It will not hurt you, put your palm over the energy and feel it" She smirked. A bit doubtful the brunette did as asked. And became speechless, her mouth was slightly opened and her eyes, bigger than ever, only reflected green. It felt hypnotic._

"_So beautiful…" Hikari said not being able to take her eyes from the chakra. She felt with her fingers the energy. It tickled; it was like putting the hands under a water stream. Life entering the pores._

"_Try to link your chakra to it. Don't worry, just your regular chakra." Tsunade added because she could see the doubt in her eyes "My Chakra will mold it and you will feel the effect."_

_The Takishima sent blue chakra to her hands and it melted with the sannin's one, and suddenly the teen's hand began to glow green._

"_Do you feel it?" The Senju asked. When the girl nodded she turned off the Chakra, leaving Hikari with hers glowing green on her palm. "Remember that feeling and try to reproduce it, then will continue the lesson" The girl smiled, her eyes not leaving her green hand. She wasn't able to see the single tear that was falling through the blonde's cheek. 'Nawaki… If only I can go back in time and teach you this"_

_End Flashback_

Hikari moved next to Izuna, the one she thought was more adept to medic ninjutsu.

"Izuna-san" she said as she raised her right hand and green started to glow on it "Please, you're your hands over this chakra, over my hand" the mentioned looked at her confused "Don't be scared, you need to feel it, it's healing chakra it won't harm you." Izuna did as said.

"Wow, this feels weird" he said.

"Now try to merge your chakra with it." The Takishima said. He looked at her questionly "Don't worry just regular chakra."

The Uchiha did as he said while his brother and the Senju waited. Blue energy mixed with green.

"Now try to make your chakra to copy mine's" she said "Relax and let it flow"

After several minutes Izuna gave up.

"You're not concentrating yourself" she said "Let go and feel. The only intention you need to have on your mind is to heal."

Izuna nodded, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt eventually stopped feeling ticklish by her chakra and he felt his hands molding another type of energy. He opened his eyes and he saw that during those minutes Hikari had left his hands and now he was emanating healing chakra all by himself.

"Remember this" Hikari smiled "Remember this feeling; I knew you could do it".

"Thank you" he whispered. For him it was the first time someone praised him and not his siblings. It was hard to be on their shadow. Tears were menacing to fall from his eyes, but he could contain them.

Hikari walked to Toka and did the same thing. The Senju Kunoichi could do it quicker but it didn't last. She would have to practice more.

Finally she went to Takato. Her heart beat a bit faster as he merged his chakra with hers. She could feel him anxious and daydreamt it was because of her. She didn't know that she was indeed right. With Takato happened the same as with Toka.

"You both will need to practice a lot" she said "Izuna, you seem to be extremely adept to this type of jutsu" she praised him again; he had achieved to mold chakra by his own after an hour. "Keep practicing and then I will teach you the mystic palm" she smiled.

"Thank you very much Hikari Sempai!" he said joyful, His brother was looking at him proudly.

"Come on otouto," he said to him "Let's go find something to eat to celebrate!" the girls clapped, they were hungry.

* * *

The Uchiha siblings did a quick run to the merchant district and could buy some fresh food from Ryuuji's father. As they were walking back to the hospital Izuna started to talk about training and stuff and suddenly he mentioned Tobirama.

"What about him?" Takato asked.

"You did feel bad when you saw him approaching with Hikari-san, am I Right?" he asked. His brother became embarrassed

"Could you please stop with that!" he said "you're so childish"

"No aniki, I'm serious" he said stopping his tracks and looking at him directly. Takato looked at him serious too "I'm not joking about this. You like her, and you felt bad seeing her with him. I'm just worried about you" Takato sighed.

"Don't be" he said. "There's nothing going on, If Tobirama is interested in Hikari-san there's nothing I can do"

"Yes you can" Izuna said "If you really like her, put a fight"

"I'm not going to fight with a recent ally because of the interests of a girl" Takato tried to sound more like an adult.

"Cut the crap aniki!" the youngest exclaimed "You will lose her if you don't do anything" and then he added "I think she really likes you back, but she can also like Tobirama if he is around much more than you" he turned his back to him and started to run towards the Hospital leaving a deep in thought Takato with a slightly headache.

"Damn you kid" he spat "you're really messing up my head" he thought out loud and followed him.

* * *

"Nee, Hikari-san" the Senju called "I'm sorry about the whole Itachi-kun thing" she apologized.

"It's okay" she said "It's just I wasn't expecting for you being so straight forward."

"That's how I am" Toka said playfully "Now tell me was he your boyfriend?" It was fun to watch this side of Toka.

"No! Ha-ha" Hikari laughed embarrassed "It never happened anything. But…" The other kunoichi was expectant "He really was my first love" she sighed.

"Oh, poor thing." The Senju said sympathetic "He was the one to kill his entire clan, wasn't him?" the Takishima nodded. "And what happened to him?"

"Eventually he was killed by his brother, because he had made him hate him so the boy would become strong" she said sad

"Killed by the brother he wanted to protect?" Toka said outraged "How is that possible?"

"He didn't know the full story" Hikari explained "Also, Itachi-kun was badly sick and was dying anyway. He fought his brother to help him because Sasuke was being controlled by an enemy. By fighting him he left his brother out of chakra and obliged the demon to release him" she added, that was the easiest way she could explain the whole Orochimaru plot.

"I'm so sorry!" the Senju said. "I didn't know…"

"I had the chance to say goodbye though" Hikari said "Itachi-kun appeared in front of me before he was going to fight his otouto. He showed me the truth through a Tsukuyomi, and confessed he loved me back"

"What?" the other kunoichi exclaimed "that is so cruel! You couldn't be together!"

"Yeah…" she answered "Then as an adult I ended up with a shinobi from other village. So I actually had a boyfriend" Toka was surprised to hear this

"You _HAD_ a boyfriend?" she asked "What happened? Did he die in battle?"

"Ha-ha no…" Hikari said "He left me"

"WHAT?" the Senju couldn't believe it "How could he leave you? Was he an idiot?" Hikari laughed.

"Well, now I can say he was" she answered. Both girls were laughing now as the Uchiha Siblings arrived with the food.

"What are you to up to?" Takato asked amused, he was a bit better after all the fuss his brother made him feel.

"Nothing" Toka said innocently "We were just talking about Hikari's boyfriend" the mentioned became red as a tomato.

"Toka-san!" she chastised, the look of surprise of the Uchiha was unique.

"Oh, right!" the Senju said deviously "_former_ boyfriend" The Takishima was mad at her, she really was a snitch. Takato and Izuna looked at her astonished and the eldest started to feel the same void and headache he felt with the whole Tobirama thing.

"I don't know why I told you about that" Hikari said fuming.

"Hey you didn't tell me it was a secret" the kunoichi defended herself poorly. The other kunoichi stared at her.

"It's my private life and It's also nothing to be proud of telling" the brunette said "being dumped by an idiot doesn't seem according to a shinobi life"

"What do you mean by being dumped?" Izuna said as he sat next to her wanting to hear the gossip. Takato was still standing and his brother motioned him to join them. He didn't want to hear anymore. But yet there he was sitting next Toka facing Izuna.

"It means that he left me" Hikari explained red of fury and embarrassment "Not died honorably in battle or so as you may think. He just left me. He was an idiot, but I'm grateful he did so"

"How long were you two together?" the youngest Uchiha asked.

"A little more than a year." She said.

"And what were you doing with an idiot as a boyfriend?" Takato asked serious, and he seemed upset. '_Is he thinking badly of me?' _ She thought '_Of course he is, we are in another era. It might seem something wrong'_

"Actually, I thought I was in love" Hikari explained defeated. The void deepened inside the Uchiha "But it turns out that I wasn't in love with him. I was in love of love. I felt lonely without everybody, knowing that I would never see Itachi-kun again. The war had ended and I had a mission that moved me to another Village far away for almost two years, I was lonesome." She added. Something melted inside Takato. "When I met my parents again it became hard because the idiot was very demanding and so were them, and even though my parents had abandoned me for a good reason, that didn't mean I was alright with it. And he never helped with that feeling. I was thinking of leaving him first, but he beat me. And I felt bad, until I realized everything I just said and didn't feel bad anymore" she was genuinely smiling now. The void had completely left Takato's stomach. Okay, she had a past. So did him of course.

"Don't worry Hikari-san" Toka said playfully "You will find your real love soon! You'll see". Hikari blushed, she could realize the Senju was implying something, and also that she did everything on purpose. That little minx.

"I don't think I'll have the time" she said being a party pooper "you give me too much work" Hikari added and snatched her meal from Izuna's hands. "Itadakimasu!" she said and started to eat without waiting them.

"Hey!" Izuna exclaimed. But then everybody was eating. Hikari stopped in place in deep thought.

"How are things here? In this time I mean" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" The youngest Uchiha enquire.

"I assume here relationships without being married are outrageous" Hikari asked having another bit of her onigiri.

"Oh, yeah I understand" Izuna said as he finished his bite "Well, here marriage is very important and sacred" he explained serious "but then again they only happen inside of the clan, and even though my aniki is trying to eliminate that custom, the council is hard to raw. Anyway, with all the battles and everything it's actually common to see unwed couples inside our clan, we didn't have time for ceremonies. Some of them even have children." The Takishima was surprised to hear that.

"Really?" she enquired "I would have thought that you value virtue and all of that"

"Family is the main virtue for us" now Takato spoke "there's no need of any other 'purity' at all" he explained and Izuna blushed a little.

"Aniki!" he exclaimed.

"What?" he asked "It's true, how can you ask for purity on an individual when we still have that silly and disgusting tradition to pass boys into manhood?" Now it was the turn of Hikari and Toka to blush and widen her eyes.

"Do you mean…" the Takishima started to say.

"Yes, the 'law' and I believe Senju law might be the same" he said looking at Toka who lowered her head but nodded anyway "is that when a boy reaches a certain age, between 16 and 18, they have to do a transition. To prove themselves, I mean with a woman." Now he blushed a little. It was embarrassing to tell this, but he didn't know why, he wanted her to know that.

"So you guys…" Toka asked this time, Hikari looked at her not believing she was actually asking that. Izuna sighed.

"Yes, and we're not proud of that." He said a bit disgusted. "It doesn't matter if you want to do things any other way, to really feel something about someone" he looked at her "fortunately it's a one-time sort of ceremony thing, of course there are men that continue doing that, going to that women I mean, but most of our generation only accepted as an obligation, so we could get the council off our backs. We can still aim to find love"

"That's terrible" she said sympathetic "but then again you still have hope and that's wonderful" she smiled at him, and he lowered his head.

"I don't have any hope" he whispered. The Senju looked at him intrigued. Hikari looked at Takato sad, if what they had talk was true, and if Izuna was in love with this kunoichi, he wouldn't be able to have a relationship with her. The middle Uchiha stood up and moved to his brother.

"Yo kid!" he hugged him by the neck "You will have a great love story, you'll see! Just think of that incident as a practice!" he joked making his brother more mortified.

"True, it's better to have some experience in things if you want to fully commit with someone" The Takishima said and the three of them looked at her, she became red as a tomato.

"I assume people took relationships very freely in your future" Toka said raising an eyebrow amused.

"W-wait" Hikari tried to defend herself "well, it's been almost 80 years, it's not that we don't take them serious, but maybe they are less ruled. It seems pretty similar as the ones Izuna-san mentioned earlier. We had different kinds of couples in my time, some of them were unwed with children" she thought of Kurenai and Asuma "and other were married. What I mean is that they did not see badly if people lived together and shared a life and a relationship with someone without being married."

"Did you live with the idiot?" Izuna asked smirking.

"Hell no!" the kunoichi laughed hard "I am pretty independent so I lived by myself, that simplified things"

"That's true" Takato said "I know what's like to live with an Idiot" he signaled his brother who he was still grabbing by the neck "It's impossible"

"Hey!" the youngest Uchiha exclaimed angrily.

"I don't know why we ended talking about this" Hikari said shaking her head "It's embarrassing and I don't see the point"

"It doesn't need to have a point" Takato simply said as he left Izuna and sat again next to Toka. "We're all getting to know each other. It's just that we started with an embarrassing and unthought-of topic" He smiled "Don't worry, we won't tell anything to anybody."

"I thought you guys might think badly about me" The kunoichi said looking down.

"Not possible" the Uchiha answered, she raised her head and found him smiling gently at her. His entire headache was gone, and he didn't know why.

"True, we won't ever judge you because of something like that" The senju said. "Nor we won't judge you too" she said to the Uchiha. "Hopefully we will all find ourselves with our life partners in the future" she looked at Hikari now "Even it that someone it's not Itachi-kun" she said gently. The Uchiha looked at her.

"So you were in love with Uchiha Itachi?" the youngest asked curious. By this time she was not blushing anymore.

"That was a decade ago" she said, "It was a kid's crush, but you can count it as a fist love"

They all smiled at that thinking about their first crushes while finishing eating.

"You will laugh about this" Toka anticipated "but my first crush was Tobirama" Izuna spat his water, and Hikari tried to help him not to choke by caressing his back, boy this man was altered.

"You like Tobirama?" he managed to say in-between his coughs.

"You're a very bad listener" she said crossing her arms "I said my first crush _was_ Tobirama" she empathized the word was. "I was like six years old and I thought he was pretty cool. But then I realized he was pretty mean, and I didn't like him anymore" Hikari started laughing.

"He's not that mean" she defended him, Takato cleared his throat uncomfortable. "I mean, I think he just can't help being rude" she giggled. Both Uchiha nodded.

"Of course!" Toka agreed "But he isn't boyfriend material" she explained "not for me anyway." she looked at Izuna and filled his glass with water "hey drink some more water, you look like hell" she said.

"I think Tobirama needs to relax a little" Takato spoke now "I sort of understand what is going on his head. It's just difficult to be him"

"Aniki seems to find him boyfriend material then" his brother mocked but his joy didn't laugh because Takato hit her with a plate plain on his face.

"You really are an idiot" he said as if nothing happened "I'm just stating what I think of him." Izuna instead of being angry – Hikari was healing the bump on his forehead - smirked maliciously to him.

"I was just joking aniki" he said "I know as a fact that you like women…" his brother looked at him dangerously.

"Okay, enough you two!" Toka said. "Hikari-san the eating hour you gave us is over, what are we going to do now?" the other kunoichi suppressed a smile.

"We should make rounds and state guards" she said "while two stay alert with the other personnel the other two practice"

"Okay let's go guys!" The Senju said getting up "Let's follow Hikari Sensei!"

* * *

The sun had already set near the Uchiha Lake. "_about the Hokage thing, have you ever thought of becoming it yourself?" _ Those words fell hard on Madara's mind. Did he want to?

"Hn…" he started "I don't know…" Sakura looked at him curious, didn't he wanted power? "I mean, I may have thought once to be the Village leader, but I actually don't think I am capable. Seeing the people coming and going, all working together, I realized they need a particular type of leadership. A person that can show them the path, walk with them and encourage them."

"And why do you think you're not like that?" the pinkette asked. "You're like that with your Clan"

"You have a good image of me and I thank you of that" he joked "but then again I am too serious to be that type of person. I am sure my people would love to have another leader" he sighed "I really want to be involved in the village's leadership, but not as a Hokage."

"I think that your people are proud of their leader. You just need to listen more" Sakura said, Madara looked at her with a mixed look "What's wrong?" she asked.

"You remember me something my mother used to say" he said "_Madara-chan don't you ever misheard your people, make them follow you not out of fear but of pride. Don't be like your father, the people is more important than a council"_

"Your mother was indeed a wise woman" the kunoichi said looking at the dark sky. "You should take her advice, even though you don't want to be a Hokage. You have a lot to do for your clan and the village."

"Yes" he looked at the sky too "I need to figure out a lot of things. I think Hashirama would make a good Hokage, of course with me and Tobirama next to him, because the idiot would mess everything up if we leave him alone"

"That's the Madara I like" Sakura laughed, and suddenly she realized the implications of what she had said because the man looked at her stunned._ 'How can I get out of this?' _she thought '_CHAAA JUST THINK QUICK! TELL HIM IT WAS BECAUSE OF MOCKING HASHIRAMA, I DON'T CARE BUT SPEAK NOW!'_ Inner intervened. "I mean, you are not yourself if you don't mock Hashirama-san" she said a bit forced but it did the trick. Madara relaxed and laughed too.

"You know me well already" he said compelling. '_Stupid of me to think she would like me. It's too soon'_ He inwardly lamented. '_DON'T GIVE UP MAN' _his consciousness shouted. Matsu suddenly appeared from the other side of the lake and was coming towards them

"Good evening everybody" he greeted "Imouto-chan" he smirked.

"Komanwa Aniki" she said and bowed. "It's pretty late isn't it?"

"It's almost 9pm, you've been quite occupied today it seems" he said wisely.

"He's right, we should probably need to go" Madara said "Our sensei is very mean and she makes us wake up insanely early to train" Sakura laughed wholeheartedly with that. She got up and walked towards Ryuuji and Hashirama.

"Guys, it's pretty late!" she said "Tomorrow we will continue at the Hospital, let's finish it for today"

Hashirama complained like a child but accepted anyway. He thanked Ryuuji for all the training and then greeted Matsu.

"We shall leave now" Sakura said to Madara "I'll see you tomorrow very early. Behave with your sensei because she might triple your work if you don't." she smirked deviously "jaa ne!" she bid her goodbyes and left with her 'brother', Hashirama and Ryuuji out of the Uchiha compound.

Madara left to his home to wash up and eat something. It felt lonely without his siblings, but he could sleep peacefully because he knew that in this time, they were alright.

* * *

The night round was quiet; there was only three persons at the hospital at the moment. The workers had stopped their construction for today and didn't seem to have any more injuries. An elderly woman arrived with a massive headache and a bit hi blood pressure and Hikari showed her 'apprentices' how to do the first aids to this symptoms. With the correct treatment the woman was fine within half an hour, but the Takishima preferred to leave her on observation so she can be sure it will not repeat at home. Her daughter stayed with her and Toka and Izuna arrange the bed next to her so she could rest comfortable. They worked together so well that Hikari told them to keep the first watch while she trained with Takato.

The duo went to the building's roof because they didn't want to disturb anybody inside. After an hour of molding chakra, Takato finally could transform his making it last longer, but he couldn't mold it from scratch yet. They were resting at the roof's railing enjoying the night air and the view. There were some dimmed candle lights all over the main districts were most people lived.

"This is beautiful" The Uchiha said looking at the Village "I'm glad Aniki and Hashirama had this idea. This seems right"

"Yes, this is just breathtaking" Hikari said "It brings me back home" The man looked at her sympathetically.

"It is your home," he said "now I mean. It never ceased to be your home" she sighed and nodded still looking at the lights. The wind moved some lost hairs that were loose from her ponytail.

"Does this feel as lonely as your two year mission?" he suddenly asked. She looked at him now.

"Mmm… I don't think so" she answered "This is better, I think. I miss Naruto though and some of my friends, but at the end of the day I was always missing someone in the future."

"Those 'pictures' you talked about in your letters" the Uchiha said "Do you happen to have them here?" Hikari's eyes brightened as she remembered of that. She took a tiny scroll from her pouch and opened on the floor, released a seal and some few items came out. She took some small papers and the stored everything back. Takato didn't have to see what she was so jealously guarding.

"Here!" she moved her hand motioning him to come closer "Look this is Naruto when he was a Kid, and that's me"

"Whoah! So tiny!" he said "So this is a picture, this is awesome." He added amazed "how old were you both there?"

"He was six and I was 10" she smiled "Here you can see me with Ero-Sennin my master and godfather" she showed him another picture.

"Ha-ha, he seems a pretty cool teacher" Takato laughed "and he has kind of an Ero aura"

"He was the best and the worst. Always chasing ladies and spying them naked on the onsens" she sweat dropped "Look, these are my uncles, this picture is from when Kushina nee chan was pregnant. This is Minato Nii chan" That picture was very emotional for him. Those two people died protecting her and the blonde in the pictures, but they were so happy there. He wanted to know how everything had gone so wrong in her future, but this was not the time.

"This is a beautiful picture" he simply said. Hikari felt more meaning behind those five words.

"This one was taken half a year ago, when I met my parents again" she showed him.

"I'm impressed, your father and uncle are really alike" Takato observed "Your mother has more Uchiha-like features if you don't mind me saying." Hikari snorted.

"Relax! In spite of everything, I can recognize the Uchiha in her. Even if I don't like it" she teased. "This is the last one that I have. This is Naruto, Sakura and me some months after the war. We were celebrating her promotion. Naruto had just cut his hair – bad choice of looks I'd say"

"I thought he would look like his father when he grew up" the Uchiha smiled.

"We all did" she laughed. "After this picture I parted to my two year mission"

"You don't have any pictures with Uchiha Itachi?" he asked intrigued. He wanted to know him, he was very important to her.

"No, I don't have any" she sighed "just the pictures in my head and some of them are not pretty" she bitterly laughed.

"I'm sorry you couldn't be with him in the end" Takato said, and he felt really sorry, without voids or headaches or anything.

"Thank you" she said a bit down.

"I bet the Idiot didn't even fill his child shoes" he said lighting the mood. She smiled at that.

"You will win if you bet" she said "Oh Kami, I don't know what I was doing really" she laughed by now.

"As you said, you were in love of love" he explained simply "You're not guilty of that" she nodded "Do you miss him?"

"Who, the Idiot?" she asked curious.

"Yes, the Idiot" he said mockingly "It would be silly to even doubt that you miss Itachi-san" She didn't know why, but she liked the way he had called him Itachi-san.

"Nah, I don't miss him" she said firmly "I miss being in love though. The feeling of having someone that cares for you and stuff like that" she said.

"I know what you mean" he said.

"Were you in love?" she asked intrigued. He had never talked about that.

"I think so; it was a crush as you said. But she was in love with another one" he explained "not that meaningful though"

"It doesn't need to be meaningful" Hikari stated "It just have to be a feeling. Even the smallest feeling if it is the one, the meant to be might bloom into something awesome. You just didn't get there yet"

"I think you're right" he said leaning on the rail and looking to the city. "Let's see what this future brings"

"Yeah" she said looking at him almost in a whisper. She put her pictures back on the scroll and joined him relaxing on the rail '_we'll see' _she thought.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Okay this took me forever! But it's 21 pages! Don't worry I have more from where this came from LOL. Isolation, as silly as it may sound, has kept me busy.**

**THANK YOU Ania980 for your wonderful reviews. Check my new description.**

**You can see Hikari's pictures draw here in my DA account: ****bellahikari/art/Precious-Memories-lineart-813944485**

**This is what Ryuuji did to Hashirama: Yokomen uchi Kokyunage, an Aikido technique. You can watch it here watch?v=hTsSKN2gwhg&pbjreload=10 i did my best to describe it. See you, be safe and stay at home. Love, Bella**


	25. Confessions

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

The rest of the night went by pretty quick. Hikari and Takato went down to take Izuna and Toka's watch. She was pleased to see that both of them were seating on the floor outside the old lady's room practicing with their chakra. They didn't want to disturb them so they both suppress their chakra to observe them.

"Izuna you're really good at this" Toka said quietly they didn't want to disturb the sleeping women inside the room. The Uchiha was in front of her, his back leaned on the opposite wall and was now glowing green chakra on both of his hands in wonder. He looked at her and smiled sheepishly.

"Thank you!" he said wholeheartedly. It was the first time he felt this good training with something. "You're doing well too" he added. The Senju knew that he was trying to make her feel better, because she couldn't do anything yet.

"Here, let me help you" he crawled next to her; he took her hands in his and started to glow chakra. He was so absorted that he didn't realized the way the kunoichi looked at him as she was blushing. "Do you feel the kind of chakra I'm molding?" with that question she stopped all her musings and focused. It was a nice and soothing chakra.

"Yeah…" she whispered "this is weird"

"Indeed" he laughed "Just think that you have the power of life moving in your hands, and you will feel it" He saw Toka crossing her brows. "Don't force yourself, don't overthink. Just feel. If you want to think of something, think of having your brow light, without any burdens or weight, relax it and you'll find yourself relaxing all your body. Then it will happen"

He never let go of her hands, while he was still emanated that green chakra. It took her a while but she could finally do it.

"Ohhh Izuna look!" she exclaimed in low voice "I did it!" She looked at him and found out he was smiling back at her tenderly and her heart skipped a bit. He released her hands and she couldn't believe she was still molding that chakra. "You might be a great teacher"

"You bet he will be!" Hikari used that moment to appear.

"You were spying on us?" Izuna said while standing up looking at his brother scornfully.

"You could say so, but no, it was not our intention" Takato answered "We came to take your watch and we found you practicing, we didn't want to interrupt" he walked to him and grabbed him by his shoulders "Otouto, you are amazing" he said smiling. The youngest Uchiha's face reddened uncomfortably, he was not used to be praised, but a warm feeling filled his chest.

"Thank you" he said "now let me go, you're embarrassing me" he tried to get rid of him but his brother just hugged him playfully. "Come on, You can help me! Do you mind if I go to the rooftop with my little brother to keep practicing?" he asked the Takishima.

"Of course not, we've just witnessed he is a better teacher than me" she said feigning sadness.

"Come on don't be jealous!" he mocked, Hikari smirked.

"Go you two, I'll stay here with Toka" she said "if she doesn't mind my company"

"Of course not!" The Senju said "In fact I want to ask you some theory questions"

"Then go you two" the kunoichi said waving her hands. The Uchiha Siblings left the corridor and went to the roof.

"What did you wanted to ask me?" Hikari spoke to Toka.

"I wanted to know more about chakra paths, do you have some information of that?" she asked.

"I think Sakura has a book she found in the Village's library, but there are also some scrolls with her knowledge written" the Takishima explained "Why are you interested in chakra paths?"

"Well, the Uchiha have special chakra paths on their eyes I believe the Hyuuga too. So I was thinking it might be an advantage to know about them" Toka stated "To help Uchiha, and to defeat Hyuuga if needed" Hikari knew that eventually Hyuuga will become part of this Village but she didn't know when or how. She wanted them not to hate them, but they seemed pretty hateful to start with.

"Come, let's go to Sakura's desk" she said "I think she has everything there since she took them with her this morning." The Senju followed, the women were safe and sound, and if there was anything they needed they would ask for the guard nurse. The kunoichi remained silent until they arrived to the office.

"So, you sure have a nice thing going on with Izuna" Hikari mentioned as she looked through scrolls. Toka's cheeks became a little pink shaded.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked a tad nervous, see was reading the names of some books on a shelf.

"I think you two have a good relationship" the Takishima simply said "who would have thought that"

"Oh, Yes I know what you mean" Toka sounded more relaxed "He's pretty obnoxious when you first meet him but then he is a very cool person to hang out with. But he's to defensive, as if he doesn't allow himself to be himself you know?" Hikari looked at her confused "Or at least that's what I feel"

"I think maybe he can't be fully himself around you" the Takishima said deep in thought.

"What do you mean" the other said worried "do you think his uncomfortable with me being Senju?"

"Mm… Yes and no" she said, at her still preoccupied look Hikari added "I mean, He might be having a conflict by being so close to a Senju. You need to think that Madara-san considers Hashirama-san like a brother. That might messed his head."

"Wow I haven't think of that" Toka said. "That could be true, Tobirama has the same problem with Hashi."

"He does?" the other kunoichi asked.

"Yes it's true" the Senju answered. "Poor Izuna, he might find hard to befriend me." Hikari looked at her cautiously. "What?" Toka asked.

"Could it be possible that you like Izuna more than a friend?" she blurted out, seeing her counterpart's surprised face she said "Don't think you're the only straightforward here gal" she smiled. Toka did too but then sighed.

"You know" she said "I know him since I was 12. We've been fighting each other for almost ten years. I've always admired him because of his strength and loyalty to his siblings and clan. I could never fully hate him for being a natural enemy." She continued "I watched him fight a lot, and he always intrigued me, because there were times in battle when he talked to Takato and smiled. I could see the love for his siblings and his clan behind his hatred of Senju. I used to think that a boy that could smile so sincerely couldn't be a bad person."

"Okay, I didn't expect that confession" Hikari said "I didn't know your story" The senju laughed.

"Of course, we have little time to girl-talk, once this training is over we should hang out with Sakura-san and chat about boys" she snorted "Of course about training, weapons and nature, but also boys. I 've never had gal friends; I've always been surrounded by men."

"We will" the Takishima said sympathetically "now continue talking me about Izuna-san, because you're not giving me an answer"

"You're bright, nothing escapes you" Toka said "Okay, when I started taking the night watches with him, I found myself enjoying his company. He was very intense with his joking, but I thought it was sort of a defense to appear cool. We had just stopped being enemies. You could say he interested me more when I could see him in action outside a battlefield but with his own kin, also with my clan mates. He is very mature when he wants to." Both girls laughed at that "Anyway, to answer your question, because if I don't you'll keep bugging me, I do. I like him more than a friend. But it's not meant to be." The whole light Hikari's face gained listening that confession abandoned her in an instant with those last words.

"Why?" she asked.

"It's a Clan thing." The Senju explained "Our clan has the same rules like his, and even thought Hashi could find a way to do an exception for me, his would never allow him. This in an hypothetically scenery that he likes me back"

"I think he does so" the Takishima said thoughtfully "Maybe if you have patience things might change"

"Did the Uchiha in your time marry outside the clan?" Toka asked, Hikari's silence was all the kunoichi needed. "See. I will still have hope as you said, but I kind of know how this is going to end"

"And how will this end?" the other asked.

"With him being forced by the council to marry some prepared Uchiha girl" the Senju said "And me, alone or maybe married to some random Senju shinobi"

"Oh come on!" Hikari said, "Don't be so sure of that. Madara-san wouldn't allow his brother to be married by force. Not now"

"You may be right about that" Toka said sighing "fortunately you don't run on the same luck, because even though you are not an Uchiha, you've still got the Sharingan"

"WHAT?" the Takishima exclaimed and then lowered her voice "What do you mean with that?"

"Come on, Takato?" the other kunoichi told her "You also like him, I can tell"

"I won't answer that because you're a snitch" Hikari crossed her arms.

"Okay, I accept it was low of me to tell your private stuff" she said "but I did it on purpose, to see his reaction. If you tell me no to tell something I will give you my word that I won't ever say anything to anybody unless you allow me or that not telling puts you or someone in danger" the Senju said serious "Please trust me". The girl looked at her deep in thought and also sighed.

"I don't know" Hikari said, Toka was about to complain about her not believing her but the Takishima continued "I mean, I don't actually know what I feel. It's too recent; It's only been almost a month. You could say I like him, but yet I have the need to know him better. Also I have a lot going on in my mind now. Everybody has. Even if I like him, I can't be thinking of love or a relationship right now."

"Don't worry" the Senju said as she patted her shoulder "It will all be good in the end. Just enjoy his company for now and let's see what this future has for the two of you. I think he's in the same path like you." She giggled. Hikari blushed this time.

"Well missy" she scolded her "you were the one that wanted to learn this stuff" she said showing her Sakura's scrolls "So stop chit chatting about boys and do you chores" Toka laughed and they spent the rest of the watch researching, until the boys came as the shift came over

In the roof Takato was training with Izuna. His brother was showing him the exact thing he did with Toka but it was not working, they tried it for an hour but nothing.

"Maybe it only works with her?" the eldest said snorting.

"What do you mean?" Izuna asked, he didn't get the implications of his anija's question and that surprised him.

"Well, you seem to like her." Takato explained "I was joking. Woah you're really caught up with this if you didn't get it"

"Oh" the youngest said "well, yes I am. This is very important to me you know?" he was serious. His brother remained silent for a while.

"I never thought you were so interested on this" the eldest said "I'm sorry for mocking you"

"You're always mocking me aniki" Izuna said tired "You never take me serious. And stop saying those things about Toka, it's annoying, we're doing something important here."

"Hey, you're always teasing me with Hikari-san and it's also annoying" Takato was becoming angry with his sibling's attitude "and you're the one that seems to only know to tease me or Madara nii. You have never spoken seriously in your life, so don't come here with that 'Hey I'm a serious person' attitude"

"What are you saying?" the youngest was also pretty mad by now "stop belittling me just because you're a year older and go to councils meeting with Anija. You're no better than me."

"What?" Takato asked shocked "Oh, I get it you're jealous. You know why I go instead of you, it's only a stupid age's rule, so stop being childish. Maybe that's why Anija never invites you anyway"

"Me childish?" he said outraged "Okay maybe I'm childish but you are a fool and a coward that has never confronted his feelings, never got his things together and allowed our little brother to be killed by Tobirama. What an excuse of adviser you are." He spat with hate.

Takato's eyes widened, he could not be more shocked by now. Suddenly the Sharingan appeared in his eyes, swirling, and he threw a punch at Izuna's face connecting with his jaw. The man fell back to the ground astounded. It had been a simple punch, without chakra, without really harm, but full of rage and emotion. Things had escalated quickly, the Uchiha siblings had a lot stuff contained for years.

"Shut up, you know nothing about me" he exclaimed mad "You don't know what goes in my mind. Why I fear this power because I'm scared to even thing I won't feel you or Madara in the future. I used to hate myself because I thought I let Suzumi die, that maybe if I had had it before I could have saved him." He grabbed his head "But it took me a lot to understand that it was not my fault, so don't ever say that to me again." The headache was starting to show again. Izuna felt something different on his brother's aura, it was losing its light. Maybe it was a new sensibility he was awakening with the healing chakra. He quickly got up, run,and hugged his brother tightly surprising him.

"W-what… what are you doing?" Takato asked, his Sharingan still awoken but not moving now. Izuna had his arms around his waist, but his were loose at his sides, unmoving.

"I'm sorry" Izuna said, his voice muffled by his brother's neck. Takato felt it hot and wet '_Is he crying?'_ he thought. Suddenly his eyes started to burn, not because of the dojutsu that had just vanished, it was because of the tears that were starting to fall without him even noticing. "I'm sorry Takato, please don't ever feel that way again." He didn't understand what Izuna was saying. His headache started to leave him as he had the urge to hug his brother tight so he returned it.

"I'm sorry too" he whispered. There was a moment of silence and then he continued "I'm proud of you, you know?" he heard Izuna sob. "We both are. I'm delighted to see that you have the possibility to become a good healer. You're a good person otouto. You overcame your hatred for Senju and worked together with them even though you really wanted to kill them in old days. You're admirable"

"Don't say that" he sniffled "You're better than me, you never hated them not even Tobirama. You're the one I admire most." He made a pause "Don't tell aniki I said that" he added joking.

"I won't, this will be our little secret" he said quietly smiling while patting his head, then Takato released him and took him by his shoulders. Both had wet faces and eyes red. They had needed this confrontation earlier.

"Promise me that you will never have that look upon your face ever again" Izuna told him serious.

"Which look?" Takato asked not understanding.

"It was not like you, it was pure hatred" he said and took a moment to think "could that be the curse of hatred Sakura and Hikari told us about? Takato felt a knot in his throat '_Could that be possible?.' "_I'm so sorry I made you feel so bad"

"Hey, I didn't feel different" he reassured him "just hurt and mad, I felt like when I fought with father after what happened with Suzumi."

"You awoke your Sharingan there." Izuna remembered. "We need to study this, it might actually be linked to our emotions, if that's the case we can prevent our Clan for ending up so badly like in Hikari and Sakura's future" he said grave.

"Indeed." Takato said "But you were also angry and nothing happened to you"

"Maybe it was because of the healing chakra" he guessed. His brother was deep in thought

"Let's investigate. I don't want to become a monster" he lowered his head. What would Hikari-san think of him if he became just as any other Uchiha from her time. His brother could relate to him.

"Don't be afraid aniki, I'm here" Izuna said smirking. "I'm going to be the best Uchiha healer, you'll see" his smile became bigger and brighter, as the sun started to rise leaving the night to an end. It seemed like Izuna's smile had made everything brighter. Takato felt lighter now, more than before. He needed to say something to him, but he didn't want to spoil everything. '_Okay, I'll take my chances'_ he thought.

"I know you will be our hope." He started "I need to tell you something else, and please let me finish before you say something." His brother remained silent and waiting "It's about Toka" Izuna was about to protest but Takato raised a hand "I can tell you like her. I know that. And you know we can't find our partners outside the Clan…" his otouto lowered his head "yet" he added and the youngest looked at him. "I know anija is going to fight that custom, it doesn't made sense if we're going to share a place with other clans and civilians. One cannot choose who to love. What I wanted to say is that don't refrain yourself. Don't feel bad. We're going to do everything that is in our power for you to be happy."

Izuna was pretty embarrassed by now, but also touched. As always he put his guard up again.

"You talk like if I am in love with her" he joked "That's a bit extreme"

"It doesn't matter" Takato said serious. "What if she's the love of your life and a bunch of old hags are guilty for not letting you both be happy? You will never know if you don't try. As you said to me earlier: fight for her. Mother would have wanted you to."

"That sounds and feels so weird" he said looking to the side, but then he looked back at his brother curious "And what about you aniki? You do like Hikari, why keep denying it?" Takato sighed but for the first time he didn't reacted badly at his words. He went to the railing where he had been hours before with her. Izuna followed him and leaned next to him.

"I don't know" he said "I definitely like her" the youngest looked at him smiling broadly, Takato looked at him and snorted "wipe that stupid smile of your face" he said and shaking his head added "I'm joking, it's funny to see you so happy because I finally said that out loud"

"It's a big deal for me to see you happy aniki" Izuna said. "So I will smile as stupidly as I want to. Also, I like Hikari-san; she would made an excellent sister." His brother's face reddened a little.

"I believe you're overthinking stuff" he said "It's too soon, and brand new. Right now I only want to get to know her better. I have the need of that. Also, she's not from the Clan, and there's the future thing"

"But you did say you didn't have a problem that she was from the future" his bother said.

"I actually never answered you that question" Takato said raising an eyebrow.

"True" Izuna raised his hands.

"It's not a problem for me, but for her it might be." He said "I wouldn't be surprised if she had a lot of stuff going on in her mind. She has to fight an evil creature. She lost too much. I don't want to make her suffer. Also, I'm from the Clan that made her suffer the most."

"How would you make her suffer" the other asked "You feel for her, you wouldn't harm her on purpose. And our Clan is not _THAT _Clan."

"I'll say it again, I don't know." Takato said "For now, let me enjoy hanging out with her please, don't bother us" His youngest brother smiled at him.

"You bet!" he said. He would not make jokes anymore, but he will help his aniki to fight.

Once the conversation was over they trained a bit more, and finally Takato could do what Toka had. It seemed he was more relaxed than ever before their talk, Izuna Thought. After a while they left to find the girls. It was time to change shifts.

* * *

It was 6 am and Sakura was already at the Hospital to relieve her friend. She entered and found Toka and Hikari checking on some scrolls seating in the waiting room while Takato was writing the shift report and Izuna was exiting one room writing something in the chart.

"Good Morning Sakura-san" Takato said "did you rest well?"

"Yes thank you Takato-san" she said "hope you had a quiet night"

"It was, fortunately" he said.

"Hello Sakura-chan!" Izuna said cheerfully, the pinkette was impressed by the familiarity, but she didn't mind –she never minded with herself anyway even though she was polite with others. Also the youngest Uchiha seemed different "We have a patient ready to leave, she had hi blood pressure and headaches but Hikari-chan helped her and decided to let her stay for you to run a check up on with her. The woman's daughter stayed with her in the room and now they are ready to see you."

"That was a pretty neat briefing Izuna-san" the pinkette praised.

"He seems to be born to be a doctor you know?" Hikari told her as she approached "Who would have thought. He's even a better teacher than I, but that's not much to say though" she joked. "Morning!" she greeted when she was next to her.

"Morning" Sakura shook her head smiling and then looked at the younger Uchiha "in some days if you master what Hikari-chan teaches you and you interested in learning more you can come with me in the mornings where you will have more work."

"I'd love to!" Izuna exclaimed. "Look there come Aniki, Hashirama and Ryuuji-san"

"Good evening everybody" Hashirama greeted politely.

"Hn." Madara said. He had sleep a lot, and still felt a bit off. It was strange; he had not been able to sleep like that for years.

"Did you sleep well aniki?" Takato asked him concerned.

"Yes I did. In fact it's been years since I've slept that good" he suppressed a yawn. "It was difficult to get up though" he added scratching the back of his head, his siblings smiled at him. They knew very well that their Aniki slept very few hours a day, and hearing him saying he slept fine meant that he was really at ease.

"Good Morning" Ryuuji said to them too. He was left behind because he was greeting an old nurse at the entrance with other ladies. They were the civilian troupe, as Sakura called them: A bunch of wise and active women that used to tend the Merchant Village's Hospital. Everybody greeted him back.

Hikari and her gang completed the shift change and left. The Takishima had to train with Megumi so she said she would try to sleep some hours. Izuna tried to convince her to join them in today's training – he didn't want to leave her alone with Tobirama – but she said that today she was going to need all her energy since she hadn't slept for 24 hours in a row.

"Maybe tomorrow, Izuna-san!" she waved at him and also to Takato and Toka as she left to rest a little.

"You really don't want her to spent time with Tobirama, do you?" the Kunoichi mocked.

"No" he said simply "She was our friend first"

"So possessive" Toka said and punched him slightly on the shoulder "Okay, I'll leave now Jaa ne!" Izuna touched his shoulder looking hurt but then he smiled at her and bid his goodbyes with his brother.

"Come on heartbreaker" Takato said when the Senju was far away "let's take a bath and rest, it's been a long day" he said and he punched his other shoulder playfully.

All morning went by with new patients coming. Some of them with mild symptoms of a gastric virus, maybe because of some food poorly cooked. Sakura made Hashirama and Madara investigate that as she tended the people with Ryuuji's help. The clan leaders found out that they have all eaten from another food post on the Merchant district, so Sakura made them go there and bring a sample of that food, also to close temporarily the place to check sanitary conditions. The only post at the moment that was pretty advanced in that was the one of Ryuujis father, that's why it was the only spot to eat there for now. This post might have prepared food just for the people that worked in it. The pinkette used this opportunity to teach the boy how to treat food poisoning.

When Madara and Hashirama arrived again, Sakura left the stabilized patients and took her students to the 'classroom' as she called it to analize the food. She put some pieces in four different tiny plates and took four small bottles form her pouch. She put a drop of the first bottle at the sample in the first plate and left the bottle next to it. She did the same with each bottle and each plate and waited.

"These bottles content some natural chemicals that react in different types of food poisoning." She explained "of course we're not speaking of actual poison, but for bacteria or fungus." She looked at the plates "There, see?" she pointed to the third one, the only one that had reacted. "That's Escherichia coli, a bacteria that you can often found in uncooked meat and in some diary. It can get very nasty if you don't treat it right and on time, but it mostly it causes diarrhea and vomits. The only treatment is to rest and hydrate the person and let the body take care of it, but we have to be alert that the patients don't develop another type of symptoms"

"It can get worse?" Madara said.

"Yes, and they might need another type of therapy, such as blood transfusion" the pinkette said serious.

"What can it cause?" Hashirama asked stunned. He always thought that knowing med jutsu would be good for battle, but he had forgotten one could also treat a variety of illnesses.

"Well most are not symptomatic, or just cause what I've told you" Sakura said "But in the worst case scenario it can cause hemorrhagic diarrhea and renal malfunction. Even death, It's called Uremic Hemolytic Syndrome"

"Are this people with that syndrome?" Ryuuji said a bit scared.

"No, they seem to have the common gastric complications." She said calmed "we'll keep an eye on them though. And you as leaders might want to speak with Ryuutaro-san about sanitary controls on the district."

"We'll do that soon, we found him in the district and said he was coming by later to check on the people." Hashirama said.

"Cool, we'll wait for him then" the pinkette said "Let's go and do another round with the people. If the afternoon is calmer I'll teach you with the fish." She smiled as she disposed the samples and the rests of food. The three of them followed them to check up on every patient. They were pretty fine, one had some stomach ache but she did a quickly scan and as she saw nothing was actually wrong, she soothed the pain a little.

At 1 pm they stopped to eat something, Sakura had prepared Onigiri again and they took their break in the small common use room that someday Sakura thought it would become a cafeteria. About ten minutes later Ryuutaro san appeared in the building.

"Good afternoon to you all" he greeted "eat well" he excused himself for disturbing them.

"It's okay, we were taking a break" Sakura said.

"How is everybody?" the man asked concerned, the pinkette looked at Ryuuji motioning him to say the report.

"They are doing fine and recovering" the teen said to his grandfather "The worst case was an elderly man that was highly dehydrated but he's been stabilized now and is in good health. We need to give them time to pass the bacteria through their systems naturally by keeping them in optimum conditions" The Senju and the Uchiha looked at the boy proudly and then smiled when they saw The Koji elder's reaction.

"Ryuuji-chan!" the man said to his grandchild "You were amazing, I'm so proud of you! You're a doctor now"

"Ie grandpa!" the boy said scratching the back of his neck "I was only giving the report, I am not a doctor…" he said.

"Yet" Sakura said. "You're going in a good path, Ryuuji-kun. You have more potential than I had when I was a child. If my calculations are right, you will be able to achieve great things, but you need to work double hard than anybody. Not because you can't do it, au contraire, because you might be able to achieve more than the rest."

"Hai sensei" Ryuuji said honored. The men nodded to him while they finished eating. After that, they spoke to the elder about the sanitary issue, and they formed a strategy. They would have a patrol that would check on the places conditions and supplies quality.

They were drinking tea and Suddenly Ryuutaro asked about the Village's leadership.

"I was just telling Madara-san that yesterday" Sakura said "They must act fast"

"Indeed my dear" the man said "Who of you is going to be the Hokage?" he asked forwardly. The men looked at each other.

"Madara/Hashirama" said both in unison. Of course each one named the other one.

"Idiot, you should be the Hokage" the Uchiha shouted to the Senju.

"But this was your whole Idea when we were kids!" Hashirama complained "Also you are more capable than I in organization"

"You are a charismatic leader, the Village needs that" Madara said.

"If I may…" Koji said "I think like Madara san in regards of a Charismatic leader. I disagree that he thinks he's not one too, but well didn't you think he wants to do another job for the Village, Hashirama-san?" The mentioned looked at him in awe, and his friend nodded.

"If you are the leader, Tobirama and I can be at your side working with you" Madara reasoned "Ryuutaro san will also help you, am I right?" he looked at the elder.

"Of course ma'boy" he said smiling.

"You will need a council that helps you, you won't be alone" The pinkette said. "Why don t the three of you reunite with Tobirama after our shift? You could solve everything in hours" Hashirama wasn't impressed with that, but compelled anyway.

After finishing their rest, Ryuutaro left and Sakura started to teach Madara and the Senju the Mystic Palm on fish, while Ryuuji worked on the scroll. He was slowly releasing chakra, but he needed a spark more to ignite his system with it. He was Close, Sakura thought.

* * *

After two hours of sleeping, Hikari started her training with Megumi. They ran across the perimeter faster than the day before, arriving at the not yet-Hokage mount at 11. Tobirama was there waiting for them.

"Ah it's not fair" Megumi exclaimed "I thought you would start training from the beginning with us"

"I'm here, I've kept my promise." The albino said serious "Let's start the training"

"We're half way there" Hikari joked. "Okay, I would like you to help me with Megu-chan's punches. Could you spar with her and feel her movements? She seems to be used to my moves already, and that's quite impressive for a little girl" the girl seemed scared but the albino smiled at him one of those rare smiles he almost never shown to anybody and started to spar with her. '_Kami, he's really good with kids'_ she thought.

Later he could detail some of the flaws that were holding her back. Then Hikari sparred with her and the girl quickly incorporated the corrections. Tobirama showed Megumi another way to mold chakra. He took a bowl he had brought in a scroll and with a water jutsu he filled it. He made the little girl to put her hands inside the water and feel the chakra in there while she had them submerged.

It took some time and Megumi said she didn't feel anything but the Albino, as a master sensor he was, told Hikari that the small chakra-flame had increased its size while doing that exercise. She was pleased with hearing that. Tobirama suggested that she kept continuing with her regular training though, and do this water thing in between days. He respected the way she had been teaching her, she had made some big advance with her given the fact that she was a six year old civilian.

The Takishima made Megumi to meditate a bit more so she could reckon and absorb all what she had learnt that day. Hikari sat with Tobirama to watch her.

"How is she doing?" the kunoichi asked him.

"Her chakra is shy" he said smirking "I think it would do her fine to spar with someone more like her age".

"Yeah" Hikari answered looking at the girl, "I've been thinking to ask Ichigo to help her. I'll tell him when we leave. Today I need to rest a little before my shift, so this training is going to be shorter."

"How was work yesterday?" the Albino asked her.

"Interesting" she said "Izuna-san appears to be pretty adept to Medic Ninjutsu. I have a hunch that he will be one of the best medics in the Village"

"Really? That obnoxious Uchiha boy?" Tobirama said surprised.

"Hey, do I still sense some resentment with him?" Hikari asked

"You can't expect for me to befriend him "he retorted.

"I think you should talk to him. He's a good boy if you speak seriously with him" the Takishima defended him "You did befriend Takato-san"

"We're not friends" he said serious. He didn't like the fact this woman was so fond of Uchiha. "You seem to be friends with them though. Didn't you hate Uchiha after all they did to you?" Hikari was shocked to hear him saying that. He was being mean on purpose and she knew it. She looked at him plainly and serious.

"Please do no project on me what you feel with the Uchiha and the conflicts you have because you are growing fond of them" she spat a bit harsh. "What _they_ did to me is not your business nor is if I befriend them. Also they are not the same people. Stop being difficult on purpose."

Tobirama didn't speak after that, Hikari was sure he was mad at her but he didn't show it. He was stoic as always.

"Have you given any more thought at the Academy thing?" the kunoichi asked in a sudden change of topic. He was stunned to hear her still speaking to him, for he was sure she would be mad after his behavior, so her question took him by surprise. He looked at her not answering "Come on, so you say mean stuff and then you stop talking to me? Really?" she looked at him raising an eyebrow "I thought higher of you". He got she was teasing him meanwhile she was making him feel bad on purpose too. Well, he deserved, he thought.

"I've been developing some ideas but I need to wait until the Village leadership is settled to expose them" he answered not regarding on the Uchiha thing. "I hope we can discuss it soon"

"They need to choose a leader fast" Hikari said looking back at Megumi, "I mean Madara-san and Hashirama-san"

"Of course the leader needs to be Hashirama" Tobirama said like it was the most obvious thing.

"Why?" she asked curious.

"My brother is honest and decent, and always worries about the others" the albino said.

"So by your logic Madara-san is dishonest, indecent and selfish?" Hikari retorted "Or you just want your brother because he's a Senju and he's more easy to control?" Oh, she was on fire today. She didn't mind making him feel uncomfortable or angry. She was tired of this grudge, now that everything actually seemed to be okay without the need of fighting. People even shared everyday things inter clans, and it had been two days the Village was officially inaugurated. The Senju didn't know why instead of being mad at her he was having difficulty to find words to counter answer.

"You think I want to control my brother?" he said disgusted "Why don't I claim the Hokage charge for myself then?"

"You wouldn't do that. You respect your brother too much" the kunoichi answered simply.

"Why, that's the only thing you've said that makes sense" he was irritated by now.

"So you don't think badly of Madara?" Hikari kept pressing the point. She wanted to know if Tobirama was definitely going to be a problem between the clans or not. "But you would never want him as a leader, would you?"

"I told you, I'm starting to respect him more" Tobirama explained less angry "But no, I don't want him as a leader. He's capable and has honor, but he's still an Uchiha, and his kin might want to take an advantage of it"

"Wow you really are filled with negative emotions" she said surprised, he deadpanned. "I mean will you ever truly think of an Uchiha as an ally or a friend? You really think that the Senju Clan is better and won't want to take advantage? War taught us that everybody has their own agenda, even the best of people"

"I can't say that, for I am no sure. And about the Senju Clan, we have no ulterior motives. But the Uchiha Council is filled with treacherous men." He said "Takato even recognized it"

"They all recognize it" the kunoichi added "What about him, Takato-san I mean, will you befriend him?" The albino made a pause. He had already thought and spoken about this. He felt related to him somehow. And the Uchiha seemed an unusual shinobi from that clan.

"I don't have friends" he finally said "But you could say he's the closest to an acquaintance that I've made outside the Clan" he saw her smiling at that and felt odd. "Why are you smiling?"

"It's nothing, we can still have hope with you, I guess" she said smirking "the road from acquaintance to friend is not that long. I'm sure you will make friends with him"

"You seem to have a good relationship with him" Tobirama said suddenly, and she was taken off guard. He could sense it

"Well… yes I do" she answering trying to control her self not to be exposed by the sensor demon. Fortunately for her, he wasn't interested in her reactions, or so it seemed. "We used to pen write when I was at the Merchant Village."

"He was trying to take an advantage by forming a bond with you" he thought out loud

"What?" she said not believing this man "He just told me about Ichigo and I answered him, then we wrote a few more times… I don't know why I even bother to tell you this, it's not your business."

"If he tries to get something else for his clan…" he started.

"You're insufferable" the Takishima said and she stood up "If you're going to be like this while we train, I'd preffer for you to not show up here anymore" she stated quietly. She still didn't want Megumi to hear. He also stood up, looking at her serious and calculating. Whatever he was debating in his mind he solved quickly.

"I apologize" Tobirama said "I got carried away, It's not my intention to make you feel bad or to bug into your life. I will behave, I promise" His emotionless face would have been scary for some people, but she knew him, he was being honest. She sighed.

"Okay" Hikari said "but this is the last time I will put up with your attitude" she said playfully. He wasn't a bad person, but he was extremely insufferable when he wanted to. "I'm going to look for Megumi. It's time to go" she left him to wake her student from her meditation.

Tobirama looked at her interacting with the kid. This woman was strange. She was different than all the women he had ever met, even Toka. And that intrigued him.

They finished the training completing the perimeter and then they went to the Senju compound to talk with Wata-san and Ichigo-kun.

"Neee Frog princess!" the boy said running towards her and hugging her "you came to visit me!"

"Baka, behave" his grandma said "where are your manners? Oh, I ask that question a lot"

"Don't worry madam" the Takishima said, freeing herself from the boy's grasps. "I'm actually here to speak to both of you, good afternoon."

"Oh, good afternoon to you too, would you like to come in?" Wata invited them. She looked at Tobirama and then at the little girl but they looked at the kunoichi

"Thank you very much, but I'm heading home to rest a while because I have to work in the Hospital at night." Hilkari said "I wanted to know if Ichigo is available and wants to join in our trainigs so Megumi can have a partner to spar of her own age. Is that possible?"

The elder woman looked at her grandson, who was pretty excited about the invitation.

"Umm Okay," she said "As long as he behaves and keeps contributing with his chores back home"

"He will, don't worry" the kunoichi said. "We will only train in the mornings"

"Then there you go" Wata smiled and pat at the boy on his back.

"When do we star?" he said cheerfully.

"Tomorrow, 8:30 we meet at the Village's gates" bring comfy clothing and some snacks for midday." The boy nodded eagerly and looked at Megumi.

"I can't wait until tomorrow Megu-chan!" he said "We'll train together!" The little girl wasn't too fond of the Idea, but her sensei explained her that it was the best for her to spar with different people. If they were going to go to an Academy she will do that everyday.

"Okay I need to get going now" the kunoichi said. "Thank you very much Wata-san, Ichigo" she nodded to them. So did Megumi and Tobirama.

They walked through the compound until they reached the doors.

"I'm staying here for a while and then I will go to the Hokage tower" Tobirama said "It was a nice day" he said to Megumi "Thank you and I will see you both tomorrow." He bowed.

Hikari accompanied the girl to her the shop her father was working and left the place with lunch, fresh made lunch. The Koji told her that people got sick because they ate from the post they were still working in. Fortunately it was not a great deal.

She arrived home, ate, washed herself and slept. She had almost 3 hours to sleep and she was going to take the best advantage she could.

*****AUTHORS NOTE*****

**This chapter is shorter because I want to upload more, but if I kept writing it was going to be way too long (this was the best point to put a stop thought LOL)**

**The thing with is accurate. I had the mentioned syndrome when I was just six months old and I barely made it. I thought it would be a nice way to generate consciousness about it. Just check on the internet.**

**More chapters coming soon! Hope you like it. Thanks for the Favs and Follows, also to Ania980 for your wonderful reviews as always. You make my day. **

**Also to guest that want's to skip the OC part: 50% of this story is about OCs, but I will try my best to keep it up with the canon characters so you can be entertained, hope you like it.**

**Keep safe, stay at home as possible.**

**Love, Bella**


	26. Getting Along

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOW OWN NARUTO**

* * *

Evening came and at 6pm the night quartet was at the Hospital's doors. They entered and went to the 'classroom' just to find Madara and Hashirama working hard on their fish and Ryuuji doing a huge effort to canalize chakra through his scroll. He was glowing a light shade of green, but he was almost there.

"You have four cases with " Sakura told Hikari "But they are all stable. Please keep an eye on them and call me if you ever need something"

"Right!" the Takishima answered "don't worry, see you tomorrow!" she greeted "I miss you kid!"

"I miss you too my friend!" the pinkette said emotional "Soon we'll have time to relax a little bit and catch up." Both girls laughed and left their respective chores.

* * *

Madara and Hashirama met with Ryuutaro San at the Hokage tower. Tobirama was already there like always. He wanted to speak with his brother about the whole Hokage thing, what he had talked with the Takishima left him thinking. He was surprised when he saw them walking through the door with food and some beverages.

"Anija I wanted to speak with you" He greeted, and then looked to the other two "Madara, Ryuutaro-San" que nodded.

"Hn" Madara copied his gesture. It wasn't that he hated Tobirama, but he had always thought he had a disgusting personality. He wasn't that bad now, but that his stubbornness and cockiness were tiring. He needed to learn a lesson. '_I'm glad Izuna found his center sooner' _he thought.

"Tobirama-sama, good evening" the Koji leader said politely.

"Ah Tobi! It's great, we also wanted to speak with you too" Hashirama cheered. "Come on let's seat"

"But…" the albino tried to intervene, he wanted to speak with him alone, if the Madara was there it would be troublesome.

"Come on, we're tired from training today. We'll talk later back home" the Senju leader said with authority motioning everybody to seat at the Kotatsu as he placed the food and some sake. His brother sighed. '_If there's no other way'_ he thought. Once they were all settled I was the Uchiha who went straight to the poing.

"We need to decide who will be the Hokage" he said serious. '_There he goes'_ Tobirama thought as he zipped a bit of his Sake, he might need it. Boy this was going to suck. "I think, and I know you will agree with me that the leader has to be Hashirama" the albino almost choked with the alcohol. Madara noticed that, he had been sure that that was going to be his reaction. He smirked and continued "He doesn't want to, he wants the Hokage to be me though" Hashirama scratched the back of his head sheepishly "But I told him that the Village needs a charismatic leader, and him, being the shiny idiot he is, is the best option"

"Hey!" the brunette exclaimed.

"Anyway, we wanted to speak with you about that." Madara continued "Even though I am capable of leading the Village, because I won't be falsely modest about that, I don't want to. There are some things that I don't feel comfortable doing and I prefer to protect this Village from other side if possible. I also thought that you and I should be his counselors, because you will also agree with me on this, he's attention is of a child's and he is very insecure."

"Please stop talking to my brother like if I am not here" Hashirama pleaded. Ryuutaro san laughed. The youngest Senju couldn't believe what he was listening. He would have thought Madara would want to control the Village. First of all because the Village itself it had been his idea, his brother had told him so. The Uchiha did as if Hashirama hadn't intervened.

"Before you say something" he added at last "I don't have any secret agenda or ulterior motive. I just don't want to be messed in public relationships, paperwork and stuff. Also I'm not that sociable anyway."

Tobirama remained silent. This was a lot to take, but somehow he was sure Madara wasn't lying. The words of Hikari resounded in his mind.

_Flashback_

"_My brother is honest and decent, and always worries about the others" the albino said._

"_So by your logic Madara-san is dishonest, indecent and selfish?" Hikari retorted "Or you just want your brother because he's a Senju and he's more easy to control?" Oh, she was on fire today. She didn't mind making him feel uncomfortable or angry. She was tired of this grudge, now that everything actually seemed to be okay without the need of fighting. People even shared everyday things inter clans, and it had been two days the Village was officially inaugurated. The Senju didn't know why instead of being mad at her he was having difficulty to find words to counter answer._

"_You think I want to control my brother?" he said disgusted "Why don't I claim the Hokage charge for myself then?"_

"_You wouldn't do that. You respect your brother too much" the kunoichi answered simply._

"_Why, that's the only thing you've said that makes sense" he was irritated by now._

"_So you don't think badly of Madara?" Hikari kept pressing the point. She wanted to know if Tobirama was definitely going to be a problem between the clans or not. "But you would never want him as a leader, would you?"_

"_I told you, I'm starting to respect him more" Tobirama explained less angry "But no, I don't want him as a leader. He's capable and has honor, but he's still an Uchiha, and his kin might want to take an advantage of it"_

_End of Flashback_

"So summing it up, you want Hashirama to be Hokage and You and I his Counselors?" He finally said.

"Hn" Madara nodded. It was surprising how much time the Albino took to process everything.

"We'll be at the same level?" Tobirama asked "How do you think of implement that?"

"I was sure you will say something like that." The Uchiha smirked "Of course we will be at the same level. We will advise him, but in the end he can´t make a decision based on what we say. That's why we will need a Council. It would be not ethic if Hashirama decides something because you or I told him so" Now the eldest Senju was pissed, he punched the kotatsu.

"Enough." He said "If you both think that I am going to be the Hokage I will do it, but I won't be treated as a child that can't realize the importance of things or can't think by himself. I wont tolerate it" he looked at Madara and then he looked at his brother "from neither of you"

"Why do you put me on the same bag with him?" Tobirama said defensive.

"Oh come on Tobi, I know you" Hashirama said "You asked if you '_will be at the same level' _ because you think Madara might influence me. I know you think I'm a stupid, but I never thought you though so badly of me."

"You are not stupid" he answered his brother in a low voice. "I only think that you love your friend that much that maybe what he says might be more important that what I say"

"I don't want to meddle" Ryuutaro San spoke out loud before the other two exploded "But as an old man, life has showed me and taught me a lot of things. I can notice that the three of you have had hard family times that made you the strong men you are now, but also gave you some meaningful flaws. Hashirama san is insecure, Madara san is closed off to people, and you Tobirama san are mistrustful. For this village to grow, you three must overcome that." He spoke to the Uchiha and the Albino "You won't help Hashirama san to overcome his insecurity if you think the other can '_influence'_ him. And you" now he looked at the brunette "You need to believe in yourself. That's what brought us here too, not just Madara-san." He sighed smiling "Excuse my insolence, but think of me as a grandfather who wants his children to be fine."

The three of them remained in silence for a while. Ryutaro continued eating comfortably as if nothing had happened, and soon the other copied him.

"A council is a good Idea" Tobirama was the one to spoke "It should be formed by equal parts of the Clans and Civilians so it can be just"

"Yes, maybe the Clan leader and one or two other members, and the same amount of people from the Civilian Household" Madara agreed. "What do you think, Hashirama?" The mentioned took a while to answer. The words Ryuutaro san had said had a huge impact on him. He had never had a chat like that with his father, and someone telling him that he had to believe in himself in that way broke something inside him, or awoke something, he wasn't sure now.

"We will have a Village Council, equally formed by Clans and Civillians then." The brunette finally said "I also want to form some special charges regarding of commerce, security, education, and others. But first, we must address to the People. Even If we have decided that I might be Hokage, It's their voice the one we need to hear. If they agree that I can be their leader, I will be honored to do so."

"Excellent Idea Hashirama-san" Ryuutaro said as he sipped his sake.

"We have this dinner party in a week on our compound" Madara explain to the old man "Its Uchiha and Senju honoring Sakura-san and Hikari-san. We would be honored if you attend too Ryuutaro-san" he added and the mentioned nodded "There I will address to my people because I know there might be some that won't agree on our decision. They always fight back every little advance I want to have with the Clan. Fortunately these last days the Uchiha council is better grounded, in my father's time it was a disaster."

"You think your people might be a problem?" Tobirama asked concerned, but the Uchiha realized that this time his attitude was different. It was subtle, but he could feel a small change, for good.

"I don't think so" he answered "You should have seen and heard them when we agreed to sign the peace treaty and create the Village. Almost everybody was eager to start. Some old hags of the council were against it but Kido-san is one of the most reasonable men I know and he convinced them." He made a pause "The only one you need to be wary of is Majime. That bastard lives to see people unhappy. His opinion influences other four or five old men."

"Well noted" the albino said "Thank you for the advice. I know the Senju won't be a problem because it's Hashirama, but we have less ill willed people there. You don't have to be wary of none of them"

"Hn" The Uchiha said "Thank you to."

"Okay" Hashirama said quietly and serious "After that dinner party we will inform the whole Village that decision, and we made the designation effective immediately. We need to start to develop diplomatic relationships with other Clans so the Village can grow."

"You want to add more Clans?" the albino asked "Isn't it too soon?"

"I don't mean tomorrow" his brother rolled of his eyes he was a bit sensitive today "but we need to start speaking to them. We can't afford them to create their own Villages and start another war from their spots. Unity will lead us to peace" his sibling remained in silence.

"Very well then" Madara said as he left his plate empty "If the main picture is settled, why don't we gain time so we can have everything resolved when we make the designation?"

"What do you mean?" his friend asked.

"I mean that we can go through that idea of yours, the charges." The Uchiha said "It's a good idea Hashirama, that way you can derive work. I think Ryuutaro san here should be responsible for Commerce because all the experience he has leading a Merchant Village." He then looked at the man and added "You also have experience in domestic affairs such as the sanitary issue that we had today. None of us could have thought how to manage if it wasn't for you and Sakura-san. "

"What happened today?" Tobirama asked. Hashirama told him about the sick people and how should that be handed. "I understand, maybe you can create the figure of secretaries, one should be Commerce and other charge could be Infrastructure and Domestic affairs that might include everything related to the Villages needs in regards of those areas. Also you might need a Health secretary and I think everybody here thinks the same, Sakura-san must run it"

Madara and Hashirama looked at him in awe, Ryuutaro-san's words had had a great impact on the three of them, that man was a wizard.

"That's awesome Tobi!" the elder Senju exclaimed, becoming his old self again. The Albino didn't know why but he felt relieved. Well, he actually knew why. He felt like he had screwed things up all day long. He was indeed very mistrustful.

"So we have Commerce, Infrastructure & Domestic affairs, and Health" Ryuutaro san took a scroll and started to write "How about Security?"

"Yes, also very necessary" Tobirama said "I think Madara would be perfect for the role" Another wave of silence filled the room.

"Are you serious?" the Uchiha asked surprised

"Yes I am, why do you ask? He counter asked.

"I thought you would want to be in charge of security by yourself" Madara explained calm, but his surprise was still noticeable.

"If I don't start to trust you now I will never do so." The younger Senju stated. "I know you want this Village to succeed and its people to be safe. I also know that you are an honorable man. I don't need any other proof"

"Hn." He 'uchihally' answered feeling awkward "But…" he made a pause "I will need your help though. You are the best sensor I have ever known. We need to work together in a barrier to protect the Village's perimeter."

Now it was the turn of Tobirama to be surprised. That man, his former enemy, not only said he needed him, but he also praised him. And he wasn't used to praise. He just nodded in response because he found himself out of words for a moment.

"What else do we need?" Hashirama asked to Ryuutaro, he realized his brother had taken his friend's words to heart.

"Mmm…" The elder thought "We need Education"

"Education?" Hashirama repeated.

"Yes, I don't know how you teach your younglings" Ryuutaro said "But we have schools to teach the children basic things like maths, cience, and history among other stuff"

"I wanted to talk about that" Tobirama spoke again "I would like to create a ninja academy" The three men looked at him.

"You mean like the one Sakura-san and Hikari-san mentioned to have in their lost Village?" Hashirama asked his brother.

"Yes, in fact when I had the idea, Hikari-san confirmed that it was the same" he explained remembering that Ryuutaro-san didn't know the girls really story "it was such a coincidence she even laughed because she couldn't believe she was witnessing me having the same idea."

"That sounds like her" Madara said smirking and understanding what he implied. In their time it was him, Tobirama, that created the Academy. Ryuutaro-san seemed to not fully understand what Tobirama had said so the Uchiha continued "Okay, what do you have in mind? It's an interesting idea." The albino nodded not showing any of the emotions he was feeling at that moment.

"I would like to create a building that can function as an Academy. There Clan and Civilian children can go to train to be Shinobi, only if they want to." He explained. "I've watched two of your granddaughter's trainings with Hikari-san, and she has so much potential that I wondered how many children that are not from shinobi households might be like her."

"Oh, It's an honor that a shinobi like you things my granddaughter has such potential." Ryuutaro said proudly.

"Ryuuji-san has it too." Hashirama said "We sparred and he knocked me down twice"

"Really?" Tobirama asked surprised "I told you, you should train more, you're rusty" he mocked. He was regaining his 'Tobirama sense of humor' and his brother knew that that meant he was at ease.

"He is indeed rusty" Madara said "But the kid did two taijutsu techniques that were really impressive. Even if it that was all what he knew. He could change the direction on a kick in the air and then he did something that used Hashirama's own energy and threw him away. It was wonderful to see"

"I don't know why it seems to me that what entertained you more was me hitting the ground" Hashirama deadpanned at him

"Oh don't give you so much credit" the Uchiha dismissed him "I was in awe with the boy's performance, you can ask Sakura-san"

"My boys" the old man said with tears in his eyes "You made me feel even prouder of my grandchildren, thank you very much" The shinobi felt a bit awkward with the man's emotional display, they didn't know how to act in those situations. So the albino did what he was best for, getting straight to the point,

"So that's what I want to do." He said "a Ninja Academy, but Ryuutaro san's comment made me think that we should give some lessons of maths, history, and cience to form even more complete shinobi"

"That's awesome" the mentioned said. "So we will have a regular school with all civilian knowledge and also a Ninja Academy that will teach the basics of civilian classes?"

"That might be good for a while" Tobirama said "Maybe in the future they can be merged, and the children will choose which classes to take. But in the meantime that separation would be best to keep everything controlled."

"We will need to find teachers for that" Madara noted, and the Senju nodded "I assume you already have teachers for the civilian school, am I right?" he asked Ryuutaro.

"Yes, m'a boy" the elder nodded kindly.

"Could they teach the same on the Ninja Academy? Of course they will be paid for that extra work too once we resolve the incoming issues" the Uchiha said wisely. The man nodded again.

"That will not be a problem. If we work hard with the trading we'll get incomings soon" he said "our Village was well known in the merchant world, so it would be highly of use to Konohagure"

"That's wonderful" Madara smirked again "Then we will need shinobi teachers. We'll have to see in our trusted people so we made sure they will work fine. The education of children is a delicate issue"

"I was thinking we should get Sakura-san and Hikari-san's advice on this" Tobirama said "They seem to have experience in that"

"Hn" the Uchiha nodded

"That's true" Hashirama said. Ryuutaro wrote everything down.

"Okay it's a bit late now" the man said "What do you think, shall we continue our meetings during the week?" The shinobi looked at each other and agreed. "Then I must go, I have to check on the district." He excused himself as he stood up "It was a pleasure to have this reunion with you. I look forward to work with you all"

"You're already working with us Ryuutaro-san" Hashirama said kindly "You're like a compass to us, so we are in debt with you" The man waved his hands dismissing him, but he kept a big smile on his face as he left the room.

"So, we meet tomorrow here at the same time?" Madara said standing up too. The senju brothers did the same.

"Yes my friend!" the eldest said "I should go to get some rest too, tomorrow we have to continue the fish training! And that's a tough one."

"How is that going?" Tobirama asked "What's that about the fish?"

"It's kind of disgusting." Madara said "It stinks a lot" he joked. '_Madara, joking?' _the albino thought. "We kind of learnt how to mold healing chakra, so we are training it by healing fish that are injured on purpose. Sakura-san said that they have less nervous terminals and if the cut is done right, they won't suffer, we need to practice on living beings but it will take some time until we can do it in humans. We have to focus our chakra on healing a cut she inflicts them but it needs perfect chakra control."

"So that's how it works?" the Senju seemed surprised by that, but mostly by how much the Uchiha had spoken to him so casually.

"It's more difficult in reality" he said "I've simplified it a little"

"Sakura-san keeps saving our fish for us" Hashirama said and a bit depressed he added "We still take too much time healing it and the poor thing is always on the verge of dying" The albino smiled sympathetically to his brother.

"Come on" he said "don't be so depressed. This is one of the things you need to change. You always fought adversity. I'm sure you will master it. You're very stubborn" he joked.

"Your anxiety levels are unbearable" Madara told Hashirama "As your brother says, you need to relax a little." He made a pause "Okay, I'm off! Jaa ne!" and with that he left.

"Aaaahhgg" Hashirama exclaimed he straightened his arms and sighed "He's always pissing me off!"

"He's right though, you're too anxious" his brother said.

"I can't believe you're on his side" the eldest sneezed playing the victim. Tobirama simply looked at him with a murderous look "A-anyway" he added "What did you wanted to tell me earlier Tobi?"

The mentioned eyes widened a little bit. With the whole conversation he had forgotten, but then it didn't make so much sense now.

"It was a stupid thing" he excused

"I know you, and you never say or think something stupid" Hashirama said. His brother thought of his answer for a while. He decided to be honest with him.

"I wanted to tell you that you should be the Hokage instead of Madara" Tobirama finally said. "But not only because of your qualities, but because I didn't want the Uchiha to be in control of the Village. I still don't trust them"

"Tobi…" the other said scornfully.

"But after all he has said… what Ryuutaro-san and you have said" the albino made a pause "I'm starting to think different. I still don't trust Uchiha as a group, but I have the feeling that I can trust Madara. And…"

"What?" Hashirama asked immediately. He couldn't believe what his little brother was saying.

"And I think I understand why you befriended him" Tobirama said looking to the side "He's bright, and even though he's bad tempered, you can have a good conversation with him. And he is honorable… Oh now what!?" he added as he saw his anija's eyes watering.

"Ohhh Tobi-chan!" he hugged him "I'm so happy to hear that my little brother and my best friend are getting along well"

"RELEASE ME IDIOT!" he tried to free himself from his brother's grasps but that only made him hug him even tighter.

"I hope you can make friends too Tobi-chan" Hashirama added in a saccharine voice, as he finally let him go.

"You've drank too much sake and now it's getting on to your head" Tobirama said a bit flustered. He was not used to that kind of display of emotions. "Come on let's go home"

* * *

It was a very quiet night at the hospital. The group had just finished their rounds and went to the classroom so they could start practicing on the fish. Hikari had explained the same Sakura had taught her 'students'.

Each of them was standing in front of a table with a healing scroll and a fish.

"You need to do the cut this way" the kunoichi sowed them "This is the only way for it to not be in pain." Both Uchiha had their Sharingan on, but the best to do the cut was Toka. She was the best with knives in the Senju Clan, and without the need of the dojutsu she could reproduce the cut easily. That made her gain praises of the three of them.

"Okay you have two minutes to heal the fish or it might die" Hikari said drastically "Just focus the chakra on the tissue layers needed to heal first as I've told you".

The first hour it consisted of the three of them trying and finally the Takishima saving the fish. After another half hour, Izuna, as expected, was the first one to achieve something.

"Ohhh it's working!" he exclaimed.

"Shut up and don't lose your concentration" Hikari reprimanded him as she stood next to him. "There, you go" she whispered. Toka and Takato were trying to peek but they still had to heal their fish. "Well done!" the Kunoichi applauded him and patted him on the shoulder "Let me check."

Izuna waited next to his fish as the Takishima controlled it. She finally grabbed the fish and put it in the water where it started to swim and jump happily.

"Let's give it some rest" Hikari smiled. "You've done it perfectly" The Uchiha's eyes watered a little, and his happiness was the one of a child. "Now, rest a little too. I'll help Takato-san and Toka-san and then we will continue"

"Can I get some fresh air?" he asked. The kunoichi nodded and he left the room while she was saving the other one's fish so they could start all over again.

Once he was outside the hospital, Izuna looked at his hands, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He looked at the night sky full of stars as a tear fell down his cheek. _'I've done it mother'_ he said in his mind _'Susumi, Saito, I will help others.'_ He saw a shooting star, and felt like they were answering. With that and his heart filled of hope, he entered back the building to keep practicing.

At the end of the shift he would have healed the fish 20 times, and Takato and Toka would start to show some advances in tissue layers. Hikari was exhausted, but really proud of them.

* * *

As Madara left the building, he started to walk to the Uchiha compound and ended wandering down the lake where he had been the day before. He was surprised to catch Sakura still sparring with Ryuuji. '_I've must forgotten I've offered them this place' _he thought, his footsteps had taken him there without him eve realizing. He was amazed to watch the pinkette's movements. She was insanely strong, but still she had smooth movements. Her hair danced around her as she continued, and her green eyes were fixed at her target, her student. He didn't want to disturb them so he motioned to leave, but she saw him.

"Ah Madara-san!" she exclaimed as she stop her movements and Ryuuji copied her. "My, it's pretty late, we got caught up in this" she added scratching the back of her head. She walked to him and he did the same. "I'm sorry for the intrusion"

"I've offered this place to you, remember?" he said calm.

"Well, we need to stop training for today anyway" she said "if not we won't be able to wake tomorrow "she looked at Ryuuji.

"Hai sensei" the boy said "I would like to go to the district to check if my grandfather needs help, is it okay?"

"Sure, go" Sakura said. The boy greeted both and left. "I must leave too" she told Madara.

"Let me walk you home" he offered.

"It's okay, I can take care of myself" the pinkette dismissed him.

"I know that" he joked "but still, my mother taught me manners and even if I might look barbarian, I'd like to think of me as a gentleman" Sakura laughed

"Okay" she said "Let's honor your mother's teachings" and she started to walk next to him. "How was the meeting today?"

"It was…"he made a pause "Interesting"

"Mmm… That bad?" she asked.

"No, it really was interesting" Madara explained "I think I made some advance with Tobirama"

"Really?" Sakura looked at him curious "how's that?"

"Well, I told him that I wanted Hashirama to be Hokage and he was pretty shocked" the Uchiha told her "I am sure he thought I wanted that charge" he laughed "And I am also sure he wanted to tell Hashirama that first, since when we arrived he wanted to speak alone with him first"

"That man sure is mistrustful" she lamented "I think I understand why, but he needs to open to others a little. Not everybody is evil or has an ulterior motive"

"That's what Ryuutaro-san said" he added, at her reaction que elaborated "I was straight forward with Tobirama, I even told him that I didn't have any secret agenda and that I thought him and I should be Hashirama's assessors. He asked if we'd be at the same level because he thought that because I'm his brother's best friend he would prefer my advices rather than his. In that moment Ryuutaro-san intervened and scolded all of us."

"Wow, Ryuutaro-san really is an intense man" the pinkette laughed as they kept walking, they were reaching the compounds limits "and he has nerve, to confront the most powerful shinobi in the Village! Ha, ha, ha"

"You laugh now, but he was right" Madara sighed "He kind of said that I was antisocial, Tobirama was mistrustful and Hashirama was insecure, and then he told him to grow up and to us to stop treating like he's not capable to do things." He made a pause "He talked us like a grandfather that wanted his grandsons to be alright, it was very touching". She looked at him understanding.

"You never had a supportive father figure aside Kido-san, am I right?" Sakura asked. Madara´s eyes widened.

"That's true" he said "It's more surprising because this man is so different. He is… I can't explain it"

"He's a very loving and caring person" she shook her head "Shinobi are not used to that, but he's a Civilian. He has lived hard times, but he's not 'programmed' to not to show his feelings" He looked at her "I can relate to him, my sensei always told me that I were my heart on my sleeve. I'm pretty sure that is the civilian in me" she laughed.

"Then it's a good thing" Madara commented quietly.

"You think that being sensitive is a good thing?" Sakura asked in wonder "Because most people all of my life told me that that was a liability"

"I think that makes you more human" he said "Of course you suffer more, but it ignites your necessity of protect and heal people. I think that is actually a strength." Sakura stopped on her tracks, they still were some blocks far from her home. "Did I say something wrong?" the Uchiha asked stopping too.

"You…" she wanted to say so much. No one had ever told her that. Okay, Hikari might have mentioned once or twice, but she always thought it was to make her feel better. "Thank you, I've never…" she sighed "I never thought that as a strength, but I guess you're right"

"Of course I'm right!" he exclaimed "Okay, that sounded worse than I intended, I'm sorry" he apologized. Sakura burst in laughter now.

"You're hilarious when you want to" she told him as she resumed walking. He followed her. "You are not that antisocial as you think"

"Why do you think that?" he asked

"You're here, escorting me" she moved her arms around her "telling me about your day, and trying to make me feel better about something" she added "I think you're pretty sympathetic"

"What?" Madara questioned, he wasn't going to say nothing about the other things she had said. He did that because he liked her, he didn't think himself capable to have the same chat with another person unrelated to him.

"Come on" she said "You know what I'm talking about"

"I do, but I don't see myself having this conversation with any other person rather than you" he said "Maybe Takato, but I wouldn't talk about something like this even with Hashirama. It's been a while since we talked wholeheartedly." He confessed. She hid her surprise, but her heart started to beat faster. He was implying that she was kind of important to him even if he didn't notice. She tried to divert the chat.

"Well, that means that you're making progress" Sakura said "because you're starting to speak about you, it doesn't matter to whom."

They continued walking in silence until they reached the pinkette's home. The lights were on, Matsu was there cooking dinner. Madara wondered how that man/entity knew how to cook.

"Hey!" Sakura said "Now that Matsu is here, it shouldn't be inappropriate for you to come by some day" a treacherous shade of pink crawled up his cheeks. She noticed that "I mean, you and Hashirama, or your siblings. Since there's '_a man' _in the house"

"Oh, yes you're right" he said his nervousness fading a little. Silly of him to think she was inviting only him. "Anyway, you need to rest and so do I" he bowed "See you tomorrow Sakura-san"

"Yes… see you tomorrow Madara-san" she bowed and smiled at him "Thank you for accompanying me"

He nodded and turned his back to her and walked back to the Uchiha compound. She entered her home blushing like a teenager. She sighed as she leaned on the closed door.

"You seem happy" Matsu said "Good Chat with the Uchiha?"

"Were you listening?" Sakura asked him

"Maybe, maybe not" the Otsutsuki said "This man is completely different than the one in your time. I was sure he was a tortured soul I can understand now. I could see his pain from the moon"

"Really?" the pinkette asked as she sat on the table to eat something. "I assume it must have been hard to watch your nephews and their reincarnations suffer that much"

"You have no idea" he said "Please eat something, I already ate but saved you a plate"

"You eat now?" Sakura asked surprised as she grabbed a bite of meat. He nodded.

"Seems that this henge body has appetite." He laughed. The Kunoichi eyes shone.

"OH FOR KAMI'S SAKE, THIS IS DELICIOUS!" she exclaimed. Matsu smiled '_I'm happy to at least do this to help them'._

* * *

Days passed and the training kept going. Izuna learnt faster than anybody. Hikari had already taught him the Mystic Palm and he was working on reviving fish by stimulating their hearts. Once he mastered that, he would be taught by Sakura to treat small mammals. Toka and Takato were now healing tissues properly, but were having trouble with the Mystic Palm.

On the other hand Sakura had already taught Madara and Hashirama the Mystic Palm, but given Hikari's reports they were far behind Izuna. Fortunately they didn't mind, because they were competing just between themselves.

One day the clan leaders were sparring with Ryuuji and Sakura was guiding him. He was very frustrated because he hadn't been showing any advance with chakra. In a moment of desperation, he expelled chakra for first time. He did a small chakra ball and threw it to Madara, burning his shirt's left sleeve.

"Whoa!" the Uchiha exclaimed "You did it kid!" he said proud.

"Oh Kami, are you okay?" the teen said concerned.

"Hey, don't worry" he dismissed him "I don't want to sound cocky, but it takes a lot of fire to burn me off." He joked.

"How did you feel?" Hashirama asked him with enthusiasm "Can you recognize the feeling to reproduce it?"

"I-I don't know" Ryuuji answered.

"Just let him be" Sakura intervened. She walked to him and grabbed him by his shoulder "You did well. Now try to relax and close your eyes" he did as told "Take a deep breath and focus on the feeling. Fill your hands with chakra and think of releasing it"

Suddenly his hands glowed blue. He opened his eyes and saw it, he felt like crying.

"Sensei! Sensei" he exclaimed "It's Chakra, I can feel it, I can see it!" Sakura was so proud of him. Madara and Hashirama too.

"Okay boy, we should realize what type of chakra nature you have." The pinkette told him.

"How can we do that?" he asked still looking at his hands. He didn't want to 'turn of' that chakra.

"Guys, can you help me with that?" both looked at her confused. "I can't use the way we did in our village, I don't have the supplies" and they understood.

"Let's see… well, actually we learn by trying." Hashirama said "but maybe if we speak with Tobirama he can feel his nature"

"He can sense chakra affinity too?" Sakura exclaimed surprised.

"Yes, he is awesome!" his brother exclaimed. Madara rolled his eyes.

"Ryuuji, do you want Tobirama-san to check that?" the pinkette asked and the boy nodded, he knew what nature jutsu was because he had seen Madara and Hashirama doing it. He wanted to do the same. "Okay" Sakura said "but first I want to show you some other uses of chakra with or without hand signs."

Then she proceeded to show him the Shadow Clones, Henge, how to climb trees and walk over water.

"These are some uses of chakra we will work" she said, "trees and water need for you to send chakra to your feet and control it. It will take time but I'm sure you will do fine"

The boy smiled and spent the rest of the evening trying to send chakra to his feet. When they arrived with Tobirama, who was surprised to see what the boy could achieve, checked him and realized he had fire nature.

"Fire is the most noticeable nature I feel" he said "But he might develop another one if he trains hard"

The four of them thanked him and Madara, Sakura and Ryuuji left the Hokage tower. When they were outside, the teen spoke to the Uchiha.

"Madara-san" he said "would you teach me fire nature jutsu?" The Uchiha was surprised to hear that. He looked at Sakura. She was smirking behind the boy, Ryuuji had already asked her if he could ask them to teach him if he had their same type of chakra nature.

"I know he's my disciple" she said raising her hands "but there are some things I can't teach him though, so feel free to teach him that if you want to". The Uchiha remained silent for a while.

"All right Ryuuji-san" he said "I will be honored to teach you"

* * *

It was the day before the Honor Dinner party at the Uchiha compound. Hikari had been working with the guys and Toka for a surprise for Sakura. It was already March 28th.

"We should have told Madara this" Izuna scolded her.

"Yes and also Hashirama and Tobirama" Toka added "they would have wanted to greet her properly"

"And why do you think I haven't done it?" Hikari said playing offended. Takato looked at her.

"You told them?" he asked.

"Yes, I asked Megumi for help." The Takishima explained "I told her yesterday to tell her Grandpa and the Guys when they were at their regular meeting at the Hokage tower"

"Brilliant" Izuna said.

It was already 6am and Sakura was approaching with Hashirama, Madara and Ryuuji. She was surprised to see everything dark at the hospital, even the windows were closed.

"What's going on?" she asked as she entered.

"Happy Birthday Sakura!" the night shift group shouted as Takato and Izuna opened the windows and lit some candles.

"Tanjobi Omedeto Sakura-san!" Hashirama exclaimed. She looked at him, then at Madara who was smirking.

"Happy birthday Sensei!" Ryuuji smiled at him.

Suddenly Tobirama, Ryuutaro-san, his son and Megumi appeared to greet her. She was stunned. Her eyes were full of tears, tears of joy. Hikari appeared with a small cake that had a candle. She had explained to them that in their Village they celebrated by thinking of three wishes and blowing a candle to make them come true.

"Happy birthday Kid" The Takishima smiled broadly "Hope you like the surprise! Now make your wishes"

The pinkette was very emotional; she didn't know what to wish for. Quickly she thought _'I hope this peace lasts forever, I wish to be happy, and I wish to see my old friends one last time' _and blew the candle. She knew the three wishes were difficult to come true. Well the happiness was debatable. Because she could positively say that she was already happy at that moment.

***** AUTHORS NOTES *****

**A bit of time skip here. And MadaSaku specially made for Ania980. I love writing Madara interacting with everybody uwu**

**Tobirama was insufferable last chapter but he needs to grow as a character, as the man I think he is. **

**I'm trying to keep it real but even though this is a long fic I'm not going to extend myself in that, because I also think these characters are very bright and can realize some stuff quickly. I think they must have lots of conflicts still open in their hearts and minds, because you can't forgive or go on that easily in real life, but they just need some special kick starters. **

**They can notice who loves who, but they are not ready to face their own feelings like regular people. At this moment love is not the main goal yet, but we know it is already there. I like to show some differences: Some feelings are new and others look like new but they have been there for some time. Every relationship I have in mind will develop at its own pace though.**

**We're going to have some action soon. Hope you like it. Konoha will grow!**

**Take care, stay at home, love, Bella**


	27. Honored Guests

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

The day of the dinner party came. Sakura and Hikari were at home by 7pm because they had to get ready. The hospital was going to be covered by Ryuuji and the old nurses until the event was finished. The Takishima and her companions were going to go back at the Hospital around midnight to continue watch.

Someone knocked their door, and Matsu opened.

"Ah, Master Izuna!" he greeted "Master Toka! I'm pleased to see you" The two laughed at the Ōtsutsuki's peculiar welcome. "You look very elegant, please come in."

The Uchiha and the Senju were fine dressed. Toka was wearing the traditional Senju wardrobe, a hakama dress with a Haori over it, and Izuna was wearing what seemed his regular clothes, but these ones were of more quality, and also he had a Hakama matching the Blue of his clothing tied in the Ninja way, inside his ninja boots.

"Thank you, Matsu-san" the kunoichi said as they entered. "Sakura-san! Hikari-san! We're here to help you." Both kunoichi came down from first floor; they were in their everyday outfit.

"Whoa you're too well dressed" the pinkette said to them.

"This is a semi-formal reunion" the Senju explained "and this is what one is supposed to be wearing."

"Hn," Hikari said "We don't have any clothes like that"

"That's why we're here" The Uchiha intervened. "You don't expect to come dressed like that"

"Hey what's wrong with our wardrobe?" the Takishima complained.

"Nothing, you look perfect" Izuna said gallantly, and Toka rolled her eyes "But if those old hags want to make fun of you or something, we better not give them the chance" he put two bags with clothes over the table.

"What do you mean with that?" the pinkette asked this time as she went through one of the bags "You think this is all a set up?"

"I can't be sure" he said as he took the contents of the other one "but if it was Majime's idea he might have thought that because he wants to discredit you. But he backfired because it ended up that everybody wanted to honor you. So I think if you show up neatly dressed up he would have a stroke"

"Izuna!" Toka punched him slightly in the arm "even though he's hateful, that was mean" He didn't answer back, he only smiled at her deviously.

"So you're brought us clothes to contribute with his probably death?" Hikari said amused. She took the piece of clothing the Uchiha had in his hands. It was a dark indigo kimono, made of cotton fabric. "This is nice!" she exclaimed as she felt it.

"That's for you" the Uchiha said "I was sure you would like it. And this is the Hakama that matches it" he showed her a beautiful dark purple hakama with a slight degrade to plum over the waistline. "It's half way between priestess and martial artist" he said. "Not too elegant like a Kimono, according to your Kunoichi rank. Now go and put the Kimono, and then when you came back we'll help you with the Hakama." The Takishima nodded and run to her room to change.

"This is yours" the Uchiha said to Sakura "I thought Green might suit you better with your eyes" he said "Pink or plum would have been a very obvious choice"

"You sure have a good eye" the Pinkette praised him. She took a forest green kimono, and went to change. In ten minutes both girls were downstairs with their Kimono's tied the best way they could and wearing the tabi and wooden sandals. Toka helped them to tighten them, and she proceeded to help them with the hakama. Sakura's one was similar to Hikari's but in the shade of green. Once they were all dressed up they looked themselves on a window reflection for they didn't have mirrors. This type of hakama was meant to be worn high over the waist, just a few centimeters beneath their breast, and it made them look very elegant even though they weren't actual formal attire.

"Okay, now's the time to complete the look" And Toka opened the bag she was carrying. It had some natural makeup maiko used to use, and ribbons and ornaments to tie their hair.

"I thought you said it was not formal" Hikari asked a bit worried.

"I do, but you're the honored guests and I want to make you even prettier" the Senju said "I never had the opportunity to play with this stuff before"

"Don't play the card 'I've never had any girl-friends before' on us" the Takishima said "Especially if you're admitting that you've never done this"

"Come on, trust me" She smirked and sat the kunoichi on a chair near them as she started to comb her hair.

* * *

"Wow!" Izuna exclaimed when he saw Hikari. He had been waiting in the engawa chatting with Matsu about herbs "I know you won't like what I'm going to say, but you really look like an Uchiha Lady"

The mentioned blushed at the comment. Her hair was pulled back by a tight ponytail with no ornaments, just the silk black ribbon used to tie it, and her bangs were combed backwards but he could see some small spikes fighting the gravity. The makeup Toka had applied was barely invisible except from some black eyeliner and red lipstick. She looked very sophisticated.

"I feel weird" she said simply.

"But you're gorgeous" Toka said. "You too Sakura-san!"

The pinkette had her hair tied in a French braid with a small but ornament that looked like cherry blossoms. It was Toka and Izuna's birthday gift for her. The makeup was a light green shadow, just a bit of eyeliner and cherry lipstick. She looked like an exotic doll.

"Don't you think it's too much?" She asked self-conscious.

"Nonsense" the Senju said. "Now let's go!"

"Won't you come to the reunion?" Hikari asked Matsu.

"No, I'd rather stay here" he said serious "please say I was feeling unwell if somebody asks. Have fun!" he wished, as the quartet left the house. He looked through the window, his sight wondering far ahead. Meanwhile outside the Village's walls, the guards couldn't predict what was going to happen because they didn't sense the group of Hyuuga and some unknown men that entered the perimeter.

* * *

When they finally arrived at the Uchiha compound people stopped to admire the kunoichi and also to greet them. They were pretty self-aware because they could hear the whispers and praises some of them said as they passed.

"I feel like an animal on the Zoo" Hikari whispered to Sakura. She nodded.

The group reached the center of the compound were the Council building was. It was a big building packed with people of each clan, built in a clean pagoda style. Toka entered first, and Izuna followed her with each kunoichi by each of his arms. The murmurs and noise stopped at the sight of them.

"My, our honored guest have arrived" Kido said kindly "May I say you look stunning" he praised. Izuna, being silly answered.

"Why, thank you Kido-san!" he smirked and released the girls.

"Silly boy!" the old man laughed "You look handsome too" he added and messed with his hair. "Let me find your siblings in all this mess"

"I feel a bit nauseous" the Takishima said to Sakura.

"That's just nerves" she answered. "Take a deep breath."

People started to move and they could watch Kido arriving next to Clan's leaders. Madara was dressed in a dark grey kimono, with matching hakama and Haori, and he was chatting with Hashirama and Tobirama whom were dressed like Toka. Ryuutaro San was next to them in his best attire a light blue Kimono with a deep blue Haori, and Takato was with his back turned, but seemed to be wearing similar pants as Izuna but with a dark green Haori. As Kido reached them, they looked in their direction.

Hashirama's sight went al bright and glittery when he saw them, the same happened with the Koji elder. Tobirama's eyes widened a bit when he looked at Hikari, '_she looks like a real Uchiha'_ he thought. Madara was serious as always, he handled his expressions neatly. Izuna started to walk towards them and motioned the girls to follow him. At that moment, Takato turned his back to look at them and his heart skipped a bit when he saw the Takishima. He was amazed, she looked so adorable looking to the side, blushing and feeling awkward. He didn't even try to conceal his emotions and Izuna noticed.

"Aniki, please close your mouth" he whispered to him "You might swallow a fly, or worse, she may notice". The middle brother shook his head with his cheeks slightly pink.

"Oi Sakura-san, Hikari-san" Hashirama greeted them "You look gorgeous!"

"Our blossoms have bloomed" Ryuutaro matched the Senju joy, as he half hugged with his arm.

"Indeed Ryuutaro Oji-san" he made a crying face joking.

"Don't tell me he's drunk already" Toka said quietly to Tobirama.

"I think he was nervous for tonight" the albino answered "and he thought that a bit of sake might calm him" The kunoichi sighed.

"Sakura-san, Hikari-san" Madara greeted calmly "welcome to this celebration" Sakura was hoping to see some reaction on his face, but the man was a pro.

"Arigato…" the pinkette thanked "There's more people than we've imagined"

"Yes" the Takishima also said "if it was awkward earlier when we left home, imagine now" she added playing with one of her hakama's boards. She looked at Takato, who had opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by Uchiha Majime.

"Madara-sama!" he exclaimed "weren't you going to introduce this delightful ladies to us?" he said in a saccharine voice. The rest of the council members were behind him.

"Ma, you didn't give me time, Majime-san" he said with no emotion in his face or voice. Sakura suppressed a smile. The Uchiha cleared his voice and introduced the honorable guests.

"Good evening everybody" he said out loud for everybody to listen. The silence filled the room as everybody turned to look at him and their guests. "We're gathered here to honor these two young ladies here. Haruno Sakura" he motioned to the pinkette "and Takishima Hikari" he nodded in her way. "They both did vital contribution to this peace. And for that raise your glasses and toast" he said with a small glass of Sake. "To them" he raised his glass and drank. Everybody copied him.

"I, as a Senju representative" Hashirama said despite of his slight drunkenness. "Want to thank the Uchiha for hosting this party and for inviting us, also I want to honor these fine kunoichi" he raised his glass "Ikemasu" he said and drank too. The rest copied him and the girls couldn't be more embarrassed.

"So, this is the young lady Takishima-san" Majime said trying to play it nice. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. We're sorry what happened to your family my child. But please feel the Uchiha as your family…" he made a pause "It's uncanny how you inherited our clan's features, you look like one of our mythology priestess"

"Hn…" she gulped "Thank you very much Uchiha-sama" she said bowing "for the compliment and for your hospitality" she remembered Izuna's words at their home, so she was going to use all the politeness and protocol knowledge she could.

"Please, just call me Majime" the man said playing it cool. "One day if it's possible, we would like to see that Dojutsu of yours in action. They have told me you also know senjutusu? Am I right?" The girl nodded "My, my what a complete Kunoichi" he said giving her a conspirative look. "And you Haruno-san seem to be like a god medic" the pinkette was very uncomfortable at this man's ways. Madara was about to say something because he noticed her discomfort, but fortunately his brother intervened

"Well, Majime-san" Takato said "I believe our guests would like something to eat. So If you excuse us" he moved an arm to show the kunoichi the way to the buffet.

"Oh, please be my guest, Master Takato, We will have plenty of time to talk with Takishima-san" the man said smirking. The girls nodded and the Middle Uchiha left with them followed by Madara.

"We need to keep an eye on these women" Majime said to four of his men, the group of councilman that used to follow them. "They hide more than they show"

* * *

After grabbing some food on a plate Hikari, Sakura and the Uchiha siblings stepped outside to eat more relaxed over the engawa.

"I don't think I can pass this sushi" the Takishima told to her friend.

"I told you, you're just nervous" the pinkette told her "take a deep breath and relax, everything is going okay." She said caressing her back.

"Why are you so nervous?" Takato asked.

"I-I…" the brunette made a pause and then sighed "It's difficult." He looked at her not understanding.

"I can tell you that I'm not used to be the center of attention" Sakura said more casually "So it feels weird to be here, it's like everybody is analyzing you"

"I understand" the middle Uchiha said, but he still looked at Hikari worried.

"I'm sorry about Majime-san" Madara told the pinkette and her friend "It was obvious he was going to speak in that way. He likes to torment people."

"It wasn't that bad" Hikari finally said "I was waiting for worse actually." The two Uchiha looked at her "Izuna warned us back home"

"Oh! That's right" The eldest Uchiha said "Our otouto escorted you with Toka"

"He didn't just escort us" Sakura explained "He gave us this clothes, and Toka fixed us" she said motioning her hands around their hair and makeup

"And what a great job we did!" Izuna appeared with the Senju Kunoichi and Hashirama and Tobirama behind them. "You're the hot topic of this ridiculous party"

"Come on" Hashirama said "It's a good way to fraternize" he said hugging the Middle Uchiha.

"That's it, you get a coffee now" Tobirama said freeing Izuna from his brother's clutches. "I'm sorry for his behavior." The albino apologized to the Uchiha, who was impressed by his reaction.

"It's okay Tobirama" he said smiling "I know having a drunken brother might be a drag" both of his siblings looked at him scornfully "Not that I know that" he said apologetic "but you just need to relax, come we'll get him a coffee and some sake for you" He took Hashirama's other arm and moved so the albino could follow him.

"I need some water" Hikari said, she had finally eaten something, but her mouth was dry because of the nervousness.

"I do to!" Toka said "Takato, can you take us where they serve non-alcoholic beverages?" she winked. The Uchiha took the hint.

"Yes, I'll show you" he said "please excuse us" he said to his aniki and he left with the girls leaving him alone with Sakura.

"Hikari-san is really nervous" Madara said to the pinkette.

"I think that coming to the compound and getting so much Uchiha attention is too much for her." She explained. "Also, she doesn't have good memories…" she said that in a low voice so only they could hear.

"Oh, I forgot about that" he said feeling bad "I need to talk to her about it later, I need to apologize"

"It's okay" Sakura smiled at him "You did nothing on purpose. Actually we're kind of honored in spite of all, so don't worry" she touched his forearm to calm him down. He twitched at her touch. He remembered the small item he had on his haori.

"Hn." Madara said as he reached for his pocket "Sakura-san, this is for you" he gave her a small package. She looked at him not understanding "Happy Birthday" he said and it finally hit her. She grabbed the present with her cheeks slightly pink. She unwrapped it and found a red silk ribbon. She stared at him surprised.

"I'm sorry I did not give you a better present" the man apologized as she took the band through her fingers "But I remembered that story you told me about your friend and I thought…"

"It's perfect" she cut his speech her eyes not leaving her hand were the ribbon was. Her sight became watery, and she remembered she had makeup on so she tried her best to hold back her tears. She looked at him again and smiled broadly "This is the best present you could ever give me" some tears fell down her cheeks despite her efforts, so he offered a handkerchief. "I forgot you're indeed a gentleman" she said as she took his offering and wiped her face.

"Hn" he said, he was trying to find the right words to say "You deserve it… Hn… You look beautiful today" he said in a low voice. The pinkette watched him startled, more blood going to her cheeks. "No, err I mean, you are beautiful, but today you're just… breathtaking." Sakura's face became as red as a tomato, and it seemed he had just realized what he had said because suddenly the color on his face matched hers completely. "I'm sorry for the insolence"

"I-It's fine Madara-san" she cutely stuttered. "Thank you very much for your gift and your compliment" she composed herself "It means a lot."

The Uchiha regained his cool back too, and calmed down.

"It is a nice night, It's seems summer may come early" he change the subject. "Though it's too quiet"

"Yes, it looks like a hot summer night" Sakura said as she sharpened her hearing "You know it is too quiet indeed" she said a bit worried.

"Agh" Hashirama appeared again with Izuna, Tobirama and Toka "I am never drinking again" he saw that the pinkette had quickly hidden Madara's gift inside her kimono. "Nee Sakura-san" he said suspiciously "I've never given you our birthday gift! Tobi!" he exclaimed.

"I'm right here, baka" the albino said and the middle Uchiha laughed. Tobirama took a slim package from his robes and presented it to the kunoichi. "This is from us, happy birthday" he said serious.

"Thank you" Sakura laughed at the scene as she grabbed it. It was a brand new kunai.

"I hope you like it!" The eldest Senju said, "Tobi marked it so if you ever need help you can send us notice"

"Wow, well thought" she said sweat dropping a little. "I appreciate this, really you shouldn't have" Hashirama laughed

"Ouch!" he said grabbing his head "Sakura-san, I'm sorry for the bother but can you do something about this discomfort?"

"Come on!" she raised her hand and green chakra emanated to the Senju's forehead "I'll teach you how to use your chakra to process alcohol better"

"You can do that?" Madara asked surprised.

"Yes, My master that was very fond of alcohol" she explain as she was still talking to the weather "And she taught me how not to get drunk, though she rarely used that technique"

"Pretty unusual woman she was" Tobirama said, and Sakura snorted.

"Oh you don't have idea" the pinkette said as she finished with the Senju. "She was in constant pain for her loses, we kind of knew it was her way to drown her pain and numb her feelings" there was a small silence "but anytime she needed to be at her full sense, it didn't matter how wasted she was. She immediately recovered and was sharper than before." She said proudly. Ryuutaro appeared suddenly.

"Hey, all of you are needed inside the party" he said, "please don't monopolize the honorable guests" he said looking at Sakura "ma, where's Hikari-chan?" Toka looked a bit nervous.

"Oh I left her by herself!" she said, she had actually left her alone with Takato on purpose "I'll bring her, wait for us inside" and she left.

* * *

Toka had left Takato and Hikari on the opposite side of the building, also in the engawa. She had excused herself to look out for more food.

"She sure is taking long" the Takishima mentioned. She was feeling a bit awkward alone there with him. She had never felt this way, but she was pretty self-conscious with her looks now, and the Uchiha had not said anything and she didn't know what to think about that. Also there was the compound thing.

"I understand if you don't enjoy my company" Takato said raising an eyebrow ironically, and then he laughed "Come on, what's going on?" the girl looked everywhere, and after she noticed there was no one near she sighed.

"I'm not comfortable here" she said. He looked at her not understanding "I mean, it's the same place. I know it's not the same people but…"

"It brings you back sad memories" Takato completed her sentence.

"Yes…" she said quietly.

"I am sure that everybody telling you how "Uchiha" you look didn't help either" he added.

"Hn. No, not really" she was feeling down. Her nervousness was gone though.

"I can't deny that you seem more "Uchiha" than ever" the shinobi said "But don't see it as a bad thing here. You are actually one of us, some generations back"

"You know, I've always kind of wanted to be one" Hikari confessed "A truly Uchiha, I mean" she made a pause and he waited for her to continue. "They hated me so much, that I wanted to be one of them so they would like me" she had tears on her eyes. "I-I just…" she felt his hand on her cheek. He wiped a tear that was falling down.

"Hey" he said in a quiet voice "You're you. You don't need to be anybody else. People like you because of what you are, not despite of what you are." She was holding her breath, it all felt surreal. "And you seem to have a lot of admirers today that like the way you look tonight" he smirked as he released her cheek. The Takishima snapped out and regained her breathing by his sudden change of demeanor.

"Beg your pardon?" she said astonished.

"Come on, you know you look stunning" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, it was the only way he found to compliment her without looking of feeling like an idiot "you don't need me to tell you that" The girl face became red.

"You think so?" she said a bit shy.

"Of course" he said, his words were doing the trick "If not, they are blind or stupid. You don't need this clothes of makeup to be interest and beautiful, but they seem to enhanced your true self"

"That's one of the greatest things someone had ever told me" she said feeling better. She was still blushing but the way he had complimented her felt so natural that she wasn't even nervous to be around him anymore. It felt right. It felt Natural.

Takato found that he didn't feel awkward round her anymore. He felt like he had broken a boundary between them. They continued talking about trivial things like the weather or the buildings they could see, joking about Hashirama and Madara. They didn't realize that Majime was looking at them through one slightly opened window panel. He couldn't listen what they were saying but he didn't need to, just seeing the way they interacted – fortunately he had missed Takato caressing her cheek and her crying – he could realize they had chemistry.

'_Interesting'_ he thought, and was interrupted by Toka who came to look for them.

* * *

Once inside the home, the group was chatting with some other Uchiha and Senju members.

"Hikari-san, Sakura-san" Madara said "This is Uchiha Sora, she was our mother's best friend, she's like a second mother to us" the other Uchiha siblings smiled at the woman, it was a tender scene the girls thought.

"Uchiha-sama" the kunoichi said in unison and bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I speak on behave of the two of us" the pinkette said.

"Sakura-san, Hikari-san" the woman bowed "the pleasure is mine. Hope you don't mind me calling you by your names, but I feel like you're like family, after all you been doing for us" Sora smiled sweetly. "You've been mentioned lots of times at the council too" she said raising an eyebrow "You're quite famous." The girls scratched the back of their heads sweat dropping.

"Indeed they are" Majime said surrounding the women with his minions aka fellow councilmen.

"Majime-san, you're one of their biggest admirers" the Uchiha woman said sarcastically.

"Of course my lady" he said "By the way I was thinking about our Takishima-san here"

"What about her?" Takato and Izuna asked almost in unison, both wary.

"Nothing bad, my dears, I promise" the man smiled falsely "I was thinking that given the fact that she is almost one of us, and she is powerful and prepared…" nobody liked where he was going "She might be the perfect bride for our Madara-sama"

"WHAT?" Madara and the others exclaimed.

"You're at marrying age already, Madara-sama and you should be looking for an Uchiha matriarch instead of trying to learn other type of jutsu" he said looking at Sakura over his shoulder with disdain.

"That's true Madara-sama" one of the elders said "You need a wife that helps you run the Clan"

"You're not being serious gentlemen" Sora intervened. "We have never discussed this in the council room"

"You're not allowed to discuss my private affairs at the council meetings either." The Uchiha patriarch said angrily.

"Come on Sora-san" another elder said "you know that even if you or him don't want to, the election of the Uchiha Matriarch a public affair inside the council"

"That is one of the things I want to change" Madara said angrily "Your stupid rules. I will decide whom I'm gonna marry once I'm ready"

"You mean you want to marry out of love?" Majime said disgusted "None Uchiha heir ever married out of love"

"My parents loved each other" the eldest heir shouted, now everybody was paying attention to them "our mother died loving our father, and he did loved her until you poisoned with your hatred"

"Nii-san" Izuna said surprised.

"Anija please stop" Takato grabbed him by his arms.

"Your father was weak, we needed to put him in place" the old man spat viciously to the three brothers, his saliva dripping from his mouth. "He was weak because of the love, that's why he needed to cut all his bonds, and even though he succeeded his offspring are also weak because of the love of your weak moth…" Majime couldn't finish his sentence because Hikari slapped him. Everybody's eyes widened, they haven't seen that coming.

"Why you little bitch" he said "grab her!" he demanded and his minions moved but suddenly Sora, Hashirama and Tobirama were next to her looking at them menacely. "You… Traitor!" he said to Sora, "And you Senju-scum…" the earth started crumble as Sakura kicked the floor.

"How you dare to treat you Clan leader like that" she said and her eyes were almost on fire. "How you dare to treat any person like that you disgusting old man."

"You are a disgrace for your Clan" Hikari said with her Sharingan on, as she moved between the Senju brothers. "Do you want to try my dojutsu? Let's do it" The rest of the Uchiha and Senju that were inside the building looked at each other. Most of Uchiha didn't like Majime, but no one have ever dared to defy him like these two kunoichi.

The man could feel the Takishima´s anger, he looked at the three Uchiha Siblings and they were even angrier. He took a step backwards; people could see the fear now on his eyes.

Suddenly a loud explosion was heard near the Uchiha forest and everybody run off the building prepared to fight.

* * *

"Oh Kami! They have the children!" An Uchiha woman shouted.

"What?" a Senju man asked "Oh no! Yuki!" he cried for his Daughter.

"Ichigo-kun!" Hashirama exclaimed

"Megumi-chan?" Ryuutaro san was desperate "What are you doing there?"

"I heard a strange noise and…" the girl said but a man slapped her.

All Senju and Uchiha children plus Megumi were gathered in a circle surrounded by Hyuuga clansmen that were forming a barrier. In the middle of all the kids their Clan Leader was standing with a marked kunai in hand.

"T-that's my…" the Takishima exclaimed "How did you get it?" The Hyuuga laughed.

"I took it from the battlefield" he said "it is marked for your little shunshin jutsu, Am I right?" Hikari, that was already angry inside the Party, and she was angrier now, but she turned off her Sharingan to negotiate.

"Come on, let the kids go" she said, "It is us that you want. Please free them"

"Oh, you're really worried about them aren't you?" he mocked "So honorable!"

"What do you know about honor?" This time Sakura shouted "Doing such a low thing like this shows us that you know nothing!"

"The pink terror has spoken" The Hyuuga laughed, and so did his clansmen. "I won't release the children yet. See, if you want your kunai back, come and get it. You sure can shunshin to me. If you beat me, I'll let them go"

"You know that's a trap" Tobirama said, he had crouched to feel how many enemies were close.

Hikari looked at him a bit annoyed, there was no need for pointing the obvious, but instead of arguing she needed to know.

"How many are they?" she asked.

"They are 10 as we see but we have nearly 30 more in the roundabouts and 10 are not Hyuuga." He answered serious. Sakura clicked her tongue in discomfort and then seemed to realize something.

"Do some of the not Hyuuga shinobis have earth chakra nature by any chance, Tobirama-san?" She whispered. Madara, his siblings and Hashirama looked at her confused, but Hikari opened her eyes wide. The Senju concentrated and answered

"Ten of them have it, why?" He asked intrigued. Sakura raised her head and looked at Hikari. The latter understood her worries, and spoke to her.

"Sakura, give me 10 seconds and then destroy everything." Hikari said everybody looked at her in surprise. "Save some chakra, I know I will need it." The Takishima said. The shinobi couldn't understand what they were talking about.

"What are you going to do, you heard Tobirama, it's clearly a trap!" Izuna exclaimed. Takato was worried about her too.

"Is there any other chance?" he asked her, but when he saw her determination he grab his brother by his shoulder and said "Be prepare to fight, she will give us an open." Hikari looked at him who, without understanding what she was going to do, trusted her. That gave her courage, and also made a warm feeling spread through her chest.

"Please, try not to die" Sakura tried to sound casually. Madara and Hashirama looked at them waiting.

"Sakura-san…" Madara said, "Hikari-san…"

"The kids are first" the Takishima answered them. She awoke her Sharingan again "I'll try not to die" and then she looked at the Hyuuga

"So, are you going to do something? Because I'm starting to get bored. I might start killing some kids." And then he realized her eyes "Good, you're finally taking this serious, come and get me" and he threw the kunai up, on top of him.

Hikari used Hirashin and appeared over the Hyuuga just in time for him to jump far away from the circle full of kids. While she was landing, she turned on the Eternal Mangekyo and gave her eyes half of her non sealed chakra. Suddenly ten shinobi appeared from the woods and made hand seals for earth release. The earth began to move around the kids and walls started to emerge from the ground, forming a closed dome capturing the kunoichi and the children inside of it. Some of the Senju and Uchiha parents screamed scared for their children.

"One…" Sakura started to count.

"We have to do something" Madara exclaimed "It's not that I don't trust you but"

"Hikari told me to give her 10 seconds…" The pinkette intervened " three… please!"

"But they are going to die!" Hashirama added.

"Four… Five…" Sakura continued. The clansmen were starting to move, but Takato stopped them in their tracks.

"Everybody wait, this is a trap, if we move they will kill them" the Uchiha ordered. Tobirama looked at him serious and agreed with a nod.

"Six…" for the Haruno they were the longest ten seconds of her life.

"So you prefer to let them die without air there than to fight and may be help them" the Hyuuga said outside over the dome. "Pity, I thought you were noble clans…" he mocked. Dozens of Sharingan were awoken by now. It was hard for their leaders to maintain them put.

"Seven… Hashirama, Madara, help me to get there when I said so" Sakura whispered. Both men looked at her, she knew what she was doing, they will help her. "Eight…"

"Don't worry Sakura, we'll help you." Madara answered. In the heat of the moment nobody cared about honorifics.

"Nine…" She hoped Hikari and the kids were fine. "Guys" she said to Izuna, Takato, Tobirama and Toka "Please guide the shinobi, receive and protect the children. They are top priority." The mentioned looked at her wondering. Receive the children?

"Ten… NOW!" The pinkette started to run with her fists covered with chakra, her wooden sandals breaking beneath her. She was followed by Hashirama and Madara on her flanks. The rest stayed put on guard, and waited for the order to engage full attack. The enemy charged against Sakura, but Madara was on left side using Katon and on her right there was Hashirama using his unbeatable wood release.

"CHAAAAA" Sakura jumped and punched hard the base of the dome in front of her, the earth started to shake and the structure cracked open.

As earth fell everywhere, once the dust dispersed some gasped could be heard. The kids were all there, inside a big purple Samurai-like chakra warrior. It was Hikari's Susanoo. The figure grew up in size once it was free; it had a huge armor and wings that covered the children from harm. The Takishima was in the middle of it deeply concentrated trying to control the summon, it was the first time she could summon completely. Her mangekyo was spinning fast and both her eyes bled. She was gathering chakra for something, Tobirama could sense. And then he saw it.

"It can't be…" the albino said. The kunoichi said something to the children, who were all taking hands, and then he saw the hand signs.

The commotion was huge when the Susanoo disappeared with everybody and re-appeared instantly on the opposite side behind the Senju and Uchiha.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Inside the dome_

_"AAAHH we're going to die" a child exclaimed. Everybody was screaming as the earth began to rise. They were even more scared as purple chakra was expelled from Hikari's body to cover them._

_"Susanoo…" some Uchiha boy whispered in fear and awe. It was a legend for the little kids, but everybody knew some of the top warriors could achieve it._

_"Hikari sensei" "Frog Princess" what are we going to do?" Megumi and Ichigo asked in unison as the dome sealed._

_"One…" she started to count to herself "Please everybody calm down I am here to help you"_

_The kids started to speak all at the same time scared._

_"Two… Three" Hikari lose his nerve "SHUT UP EVERYBODY!" and even though that scared the children more, it had its effect._

_"Please, everybody take hands and create a human chain. Ichigo is going to be one end, and Megumi here is the other" She explained "Four…" she thought._

_Everybody was shaking but then the Koji and the Senju started to guide the rest_

_"Five…"_

_"Come on everybody!" they shouted "Let's take hands! We must help her to help us!"_

_'Six… damned those kids have future as leaders… Seven…' Hikari thought as she saw the rest following their orders. When everybody was grabbed, she spoke again._

_"You're doing excellent guys" she complimented them to give them courage "Now; when I said "ready" grab your partner really hard, everybody must be locked in this human chain. Eight…" there was little time. "If someone let go from another one's hand, grab them from their clothes. Nine… this is the only way you will save them"_

_The kids held onto their pairs hard and felt fear and courage, they would save the one next to each other._

_"Ten… "Sakura might have started the run "Megu, Ichigo, when I said ready you grab my ankles hard with your free hand" the children nodded. And then a loud bang cracked the dome open._

_"READY!" Hikari exclaimed she couldn't see where she was going because of the blood, but he used Takato's charka as a reference point, everybody did his part and she did the seals for her uncle's massive Hirashin._

_End of Flashback…_

* * *

"Ichigo!" Wata san exclaimed, she was far behind and she hadn't noticed what was going on until the dome was created. All Senju and Uchiha Families shouted their children names. Fortunately nobody was left on the battlefield.

The Susanoo was still activated, and Hikari's eyes were bleeding hard. She was pale and near chakra depletion. Takato and Tobirama looked at each other and started to command they clans mates

"UCHIHA, HALF OF YOU CREATE A BARRIER AND DEFEND THE CHILDREN, THE REST OF YOU FOLLOW IZUNA AND CHARGE TO HELP MADARA, SAKURA AND HASHIRAMA" The Uchiha second heir said. His Younger brother nodded and took the lead of the group it was forming.

"SENJU, DIVIDE IN GROUPS TO HELP THE UCHIHA!" The albino exclaimed

"DON'T KILL ANYBODY, JUST REDUCE THEM" Takato added

"HE'S RIGHT, WE DON'T WANT NOR NEED ANOTHER WAR RIGHT NOW" Tobirama said, "WE'LL SEE WHAT HASHIRAMA AND MADARA DECIDE".

The shinobi started to move, and with outstanding efficiency they compelled their orders. For their children, their future, they fought as allies, as friends, as a big family, for the first time. Izuna led the mixed clan troops, while his brother, the albino and Toka waited at the barrier.

In minutes time, they had all the Hyuuga and their allies trapped and tied on the center of the battlefield. Madara sent a small group of Uchiha and Senju sensors to search through the woods to check for other shinobi.

Meanwhile the Susanoo started to vanish slowly and the parents run to their encounter with the kids.

"HIKARI SENSEI!" Megumi cried and Takato and Tobirama turned their heads back just to see Hikari falling on her knees, breathing hard, with her bleeding eyes black again. The Susanoo had completely disappeared. Toka run to her encounter just to catch her before her head hit the ground.

"Hikari!" the senju Kunoichi called her name. Her breath was slow.

"Don't w-worry kiddo, I-I'm fine, just…" She was barely whispering "just tired…" and she fainted.

Toka did a quickly check up on her friend while Megumi and Ichigo were kneeled beside her.

"She just fainted" The Senju Kunoichi exclaimed "please give us some space so she can breathe" Wata and Ryuutaro came near to take their grandchildren.

"But I want to be with sensei!" the little girl was crying in anguish.

"Megu-chan, Toka chan will help her. Don't worry" The old man hugged her.

"I'm going to transfer her some of my chakra" Toka said out loud, she remembered something. She knew her friend was near chakra depletion so put her hands over Hikari's chest and molded some chakra as a white light appeared. Takato and the albino got there just in time to catch a glimpse of that light, and they knew it wasn't what chakra transfer looked like.

"That must be..." the Senju said.

"It's Hamura" Takato stated in a low voice. "She really is nearly chakra depletion" he was frowning in concern for her, and his counterpart didn't fail to notice that. He checked her chakra also worried.

"Her Seal is still there. I wonder why she didn't release it" he whispered. The Uchiha looked at him, also confused.

"Hikari-chan" Toka whispered at her "Can you hear me?" the mentioned slowly opened her eyes. They were pretty sore of by the use.

"Frog princess!" Ichigo exclaimed from her grandmother's grasp. "Toka-nee chan is she alright?" All Senju and Uchiha gathered next to her to check on her state. She had saved their children.

"Is she okay Toka-sama?" and elder from the Senju council asked.

"She is now" the kunoichi said in loud voice "She needs rest because she's almost without chakra"

"Why are you so loud!?" Hikari said with her voice hoarse.

"They all are really worried about you" the Senju kunoichi said as she arranged the Takishima's hair "You really have a suicidal wish, you used an insane amount of chakra and your eyes are a mess" she added scolding her.

"Come on Toka" Hikari's voice was barely audible "... not the time to give me an earful" she noticed the two shinobi had kneeled next to her. Takato took a handkerchief and wiped some of the blood on her face.

"Here" Tobirama said extending his hand over the piece of cloth as he did a small water jutsu so it would clean the blood better.

"Thanks" he said looking at the Albino, who grunted and nodded.

The Uchiha continued cleaning her face while Toka run a more complete checkup. Tobirama just watched kneeled beside her. He felt a bit out of place, it was like the Uchiha was doing an intimate action by cleansing her face. Was he feeling jealous? He suddenly got up and motioned to where his brother, Madara and Sakura were.

The Hyuuga leader was in the middle of the group again but this time they were his clansmates, all tied up and surrounded by a small Uchiha Senju army lead by an angry Izuna.

* * *

*****AUTHORS NOTE*****

**Maiko: Geisha**

**Hakama and Haori: Japanese traditional clothing**

**Hope you like this small plot twist. It was time to put some spice on the story!**

**Thanks Ania980 as always **


	28. About the curse

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO (SADLY)**

"What are you waiting for?" The Hyuuga leader shouted at Madara and Hashirama "Kill me! Kill us!" his men looked at him worried.

"SHUT UP" Madara spat "We don't want to kill you" he crossed his arms. "How could you do this? How could you possible think to kill our children? Death will only be a gift for you" he said while his Sharingan started to spin "and I can show you worse than death" by now his Mangekyo was activated. Sakura was worried because she thought the Uchiha was being a slave of their curse of hatred, but something in her gut told her to wait.

"You have pretty little eyes like mine" the prisoner mocked "So what?"

"I don't think you'll call my eyes pretty when you come back from the Tsukuyomi" Madara said in a low dangerous voice. The white eyed man gulped hard and that made him smirk. "So you know what I am talking about. The three days of torture genjutsu, most people are not the same after being in caught in it, if they survive I mean"

"W-What do you want?" The Hyuuga asked scared. His fellow shinobi were beaten and some of them trembling. This time the Uchiha looked at Hashirama, who took a step forward in this man direction. His expression was severe and hurt.

"We want you to stop attacking us" The Senju said serious. "We want peace." Many of the presents including the prisoners, gasped. "Uchiha and Senju have been enemies for Kami knows how long, and we finally could find peace. Our goals were the same, to survive and keep our Clan alive, but in the meantime we lost our north. Now that we regained it we want to protect it, and we will. You don't mess with our Village, because we'll protect it with our lives."

"T-then why don't you kill us?" the prisoner asked confused and disgusted. "You don't know for sure if we'll stop attacking you even if we said so." The Senju sighed, next to him Madara was with his Mangekyo still on and Sakura was next to him al dirty because of the earth she had cracked. Tobirama was standing next to Izuna, watching the man menacely.

"We don't want war" Hashirama said simply. "We don't need it. We want to make this Village to grow, to be a place where fellow shinobi and civilians can cohabitate working together in peace. We never thought it would be possible for us to reach this dream" he pointed at Madara and himself "But fortunately we were given a chance by Kami" he looked at Sakura and the almost fainting Hikari further away. "And so, we're going to give you a chance"

The people were paying attention at the Senju's words, they were surprised by his statement, but the majority of whispers were of confusion or doubt.

"A chance?" the Hyuuga asked.

"You leave now and think of a possible truce and alliance" the future Hokage said. "But…"

"What?" the other asked immediately.

"If you ever attack our children again, we will kill you mercilessly" Hashirama said with a murderous look, his senjutusu activating slightly. Madara backed up him by taking a step next to him emanating some purple Susanoo like chakra, and Sakura cracked her knuckles loudly. "Of course that applies to the rest of the Village too"

"Hinoishi-sama" one of the Hyuuga clansmen whispered to his leader. "Please, think about this. They are giving us a chance" the other men also whispered their approval. The man seemed worried and something else Hashirama couldn't name yet. '_Maybe he feels dishonor'_ the Senju thought. The quiet conversation took some minutes more.

"ENOUGH!" Hinoishi said "You know that I can't accept that, we can't be your allies, nor join you"

"I'm not saying that you have to" Hashirama said "If you want that it's fine for us, but if you chose not to, we just want you to keep of our territory. You really can choose in this moment. Leave in peace to think if you want to join our cause, or not and you just keep distance from us. Or attack us and die" He smiled his cheerful well known smile, and it was completely creepy, Sakura thought. She heard the Hyuuga gulped again.

"You also need to know that Sakura-san here and Hikari-san are honored members of this village, and if you also ever plan to harm them, Konohagure will protect them with full force" he kept smiling and even though it was touching, he made the pinkette remember of Sai and his ability to say dreadful things while grinning. There was a silence full of expectation that seemed to last forever, and then the man spoke.

"Okay" Hinoishi said "We accept your offer and we will leave your Village peacefully." Madara smirked "But we won't ally to you. We'll just honor this sort of truce and we won't attack this Village or any of its Villagers."

"That's fine for me" the Senju said "Guys what do you think?" he looked behind us to his friends and brother, and also to their people.

"Okay" Madara said relaxing his guard but Mangekyo still on.

"I Agree" Tobirama said, Izuna copied him and Sakura nodded. The rest of the people talked between each other not sure of what to do. Some of the parents that were hugging their children looked worried.

"I think it's a good Idea" Kido San said from the middle of the crowd "We don't want any more wars, or blood spilled" He looked at his fellow Uchiha with vehemence. Some of them started to nod in approval. Finally they started to agree verbally.

"What Kido-san is saying is right people" Wata Senju spoke. "Let's protect what we have by not behaving like we did before" she looked at her people. They did the same as the Uchiha. Pleased, Hashirama looked at the Hyuuga again.

"Okay, we will escort you outside the Village" he said.

"Hashirama," Madara interrupted "First we need to ask them a few things, is it possible?" he asked his friend. The man nodded. "Tobirama," the Uchiha now called the albino "Would you like to interrogate these men?" The mentioned looked at him surprised; he had been thinking how they could have done something that big without them even noticing. He nodded and walked towards the group of prisoners.

Meanwhile the Uchiha and Senju sensor patrol arrived; they had not found more shinobi nearby. Madara and Hashirama walked back with Sakura to speak with their Clans.

Izuna backed up the Albino with twenty men, but giving him space to act. They didn't want to ruin what Hashirama and Madara had achieved. Tobirama proceeded to ask him how they had entered and taken the kids from their homes. The man told him that thy had entered through a dead spot on the perimeter and one of the non Hyuuga shinobi had crossed it some days before and he passed as a civilian. He learnt that there was going to be a reunion that day and the figured out the kids would be alone. Taking them from their beds was easy because they had come across the civilian girl and with her as hostage they compelled they orders without opposing any resistance.

"Sakura-san, I think is better that you go check on Hikari-san now" Madara suggested her "We've got it covered"

"Hai" the pinkette said while nodding "There's no one else hurt, right?"

"No one seems to need attention" Hashirama said looking around.

"I'll go with Hikari-chan then" Sakura said and jumped landing flawlessly near her friend.

Takato had cleaned her face the best he could and Toka had checked that she didn't have any important wound.

"Nee Hikari-chan, can you hear me?" Sakura said quietly pressing Hikari's shoulder.

"Sa-Sakura" the Takishima whispered.

"You've overdone yourself this time lady" the pinkette scolded her while scanning her body in more depth than Toka; It was not that she didn't trust her, but Sakura could identify things others couldn't. "Your limbs are chakra-less, and your eye's chakra coils are burnt. How many fingers do you see?" she put two fingers in front of her eyes.

"T-Two" Hikari said with great effort, her eyes were closing. "I'm tired"

"Then your corneas are okay, that's good" Sakura smiled. "I'm going to start healing your eyes, you can relax now, the danger has passed" she said as she started glowing green over her eyes. The Takishima's breathing evened and she fell unconscious.

"Oh Kami, Is she okay?" Toka asked worried.

"Yes" the pinkette explained "she's passed out of chakra depletion, your help worked fine to maintain her until I could check on her. You did well Toka!" The Senju blushed a little for the praise. "But we need to take her to the hospital so I can perform a proper chakra transfusion and she can rest" She stood up and walked to Madara and Hashirama again.

"I must take Hikari-chan to the Hospital" She explained "She's passed out"

"I can take her with Hirashin right now" Tobirama said coming from the interrogation "I have all the information we need" he added looking at his brother and Madara.

"Go then Tobi" Hashirama answered "We'll escort these men with Izuna". The albino nodded and walked back with Sakura to where the Takishima was. He kneeled and took her in his arms. Takato looked at him surprised with his action.

"I'll get her to the Hospital faster" Tobirama felt the need to explain his actions, but he didn't know why. The Uchiha nodded at him and the Senju added "I'll see you there" then, he shunshined with Hikari. Sakura left jumping and running. Toka and Takato looked at Hashirama and Madara and the men nodded too allowing them to go with the pinkette.

"Nee… Nii-san" Izuna said to the Uchiha Patriarch "Shall we escort these men now?"

"Yes, but control your men. We need to not be hostile right now." He answered "We'll go with you"

"Everybody!" The Senju leader said "We're done here, we'll escort these men and you now can return to your homes safely. We're sorry this gathering ended up this way, but there will be plenty of times to celebrate together. Please, rest well" The people were still nervous but understood what he was saying, some of them even bowed greeting them and left. "Now" he said looking at his friend "Let's finish this so we can go and check on Hikari-san" And they made the Hyuuga men to stand up and walked them to the Village's doors.

* * *

In the Hospital Ryuuji received Tobirama and Hikari worried, the girl's clothes were drenched in blood but she seemed to not have any visible injuries. He made the albino enter in one of the emergency rooms and they put her over a stretcher.

"What happened" he asked as he checked her vitals. Fortunately she was only unconscious. He started to take her Hakama off. Tobirama blushed a little, because he found it inappropriate but it seemed this boy was already a professional, Sakura was teaching him well and he surely was a fast learner.

"We were attacked by a bunch of Hyuuga men" the Senju explained, and he noticed how Ryuuji grabbed the hakama's fabric tighter as he said so.

"Did… Did someone get hurt?" he asked while trying to concentrate in the task.

"No, only the Hyuuga." That seemed to calm the boy "They had kidnapped all Uchiha and Senju kids, and they grabbed your sister all along but they are all fine. Hikari-san and Sakura-san saved them"

"M-Megumi was there?" He had finished with the Hakama and was placing it over a chair as he grabbed a white clean robe.

"Yes, she seemed to notice when they entered in the village and followed them. So they took her as a hostage" Tobirama said serious.

"WHAT ON KAMI'S NAME WAS SHE THINKING!?" Ryuuji exclaimed loudly, squeezing the robe hard. The Albino looked at him unimpressed. "I-I'm sorry Tobirama-sama. It's just…"

"You were angry and worried about your sister" he stated "that's a good reason to raise your voice. Don't apologize."

"Yes, that's true. It's worse in this case because it was the Hyuuga of all of Clans" the teen said "Oh, I need to change Hikari-San. Could you please wait outside?" The Albino became aware of the situation, nodded and quickly stepped out of the room.

While Tobirama waited outside, he thought about what the boy said about the Hyuuga. He knew they had attacked their village the day the kunoichi had arrived but his reaction was sure about something else related with the clan. Immediately Sakura arrived followed by Takato and Toka.

"Where's Hikari?" Sakura asked as she recovered her air.

"It's Inside" The albino pointed the door behind him "Your apprentice has checked her and he's changing her right now, he asked me to leave"

"Great, thank you very much Tobirama-san" said the pinkette and entered the room leaving the three of them outside.

"The boy is changing her?" Toka said amused.

"I don't see a reason to be amused here Toka" the Senju said "The boy as you said seemed very professional" he defended him.

"Oh, Tobi Chan is fond of the civilian apprentice?" she mocked "You're doing great advances in since we've arrived here"

"Shut up" Tobirama said annoyed. "Ryuuji-san was upset when I mentioned the Hyuuga. Do you two know something about?"

"Hn… No" Takato answered as Toka shook her head. "I've spoke little with him. Maybe you should ask Sakura-san" and the man nodded. They were silent for a while; Tobirama could realize that both his waiting companions were anxious waiting for notice about the Takishima. He couldn't understand how quickly those girls had won the trust and hearts of so many people, and he realized he was not so coldhearted as he had thought because he was worried about the kunoichi on the other room, and he felt sort of proud and at ease having the pinkette with them. Speaking of the devil, she came out of the door with Hikari's Clothes. Takato and Toka looked at her expectant.

"She's doing fine now but she's still asleep, and she will be that way until she replenishes her chakra completely by herself" Sakura explained. "Toka-San I'm sorry to ask, but could you please sent this to clean? The fabric is dark but the blood stain won't come off if we wait" she handled the clothes to her "And knowing Hikari, she will feel bad for ruining the gift Izuna gave her." She smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll go and come back right away" Toka said and took off. Once the three of them were alone Sakura said that they have to take her to a regular room, so she can rest properly. She re-entered the emergency room and soon she walked out moving the Stretcher with Ryuuji's help.

"We'll take her to room 5, I'll tell you when you can visit her" she said as passing. Tobirama and Takato were left alone in an uncomfortable silence. They both were worried about the kunoichi, she was pale, surely because of the blood loss, but despite of that it was awkward between the two of them. The Uchiha had noticed Tobirama's reaction when he cleaned Hikari's face, he knew it was sort of an intimate gesture, but he felt in the need to do so; also the Senju had noticed Takato's subtle reaction when he grabbed the Kunoichi to take her to the Hospital. The albino remembered his brother's words again. This man was interested in her, and he realized that so did he. The question was until what extent.

Takato, on the other hand remembered Izuna's words. If he didn't put himself together, the Senju might become interested in the kunoichi and she… there was no way he could foresee what would her feelings be if that happened. He knew Tobirama was a good man, and thinking of him as a possible rival but in another kind of battlefield had never crossed his mind until now. _'Kami, I really like her. I'm doomed'_

"That Majime-san is really a despicable man" the Senju finally said taking the other man out from his musings. "What he said about your mother…" he couldn't finish, if someone spoke that way about his mother he might destroy that person.

"Yeah, he is hateful" Takato said and sighed "He crossed a line this time. It's been a long time since I've been Aniki so angry. Last time it was with our father. I still can't believe what Hikari-san did, and Sakura backed her up. They sure are a team" he smiled.

"Those girls have some nerve" Tobirama smirked "do you think she might get in trouble with your clan?"

"I'm sure she will be in trouble with Majime-san" he joked "But with the clan, no. What she did today made her gain full Uchiha trust and respect. The Susanoo that almost costs her life I mean. Our people will sure forget she slapped and old hateful hag over the lives of their children, how Ironic." He smiled sadly.

"What do you mean?" the albino asked not understanding. Takato looked everywhere but sensed they were completely alone.

"In her time Uchiha hated her" he explained "and now, they might treat her like her own kin."

"That's true" the other shinobi said, and they could not continue talking because finally Madara, Hashirama and Izuna arrived.

"The Hyuuga are far away, and we've reinforced our guards. We have sensors posted across the perimeter" Madara informed his brother and Tobirama.

"We need to start working on the Village's defense right away." The latter answered "The sensors are fine, but we need to make them know and be familiar with the chakra signatures of the villagers so they can notice any foreign suspicious person"

"Tomorrow we'll discuss that on our reunion" Hashirama said "How is Hikari San?"

"And where's Toka? Izuna asked "Is she helping Sakura-san? That's not fair!"

"I'm here silly" the Kunoichi said as she arrived "I took Hikari-san's clothes to be cleaned, Sakura-san told me so. She thought Hikari-san might feel bad for ruining your present" Izuna blushed.

"That Baka" he said "she sure has her priorities messed up"

"She was very grateful with your gift" Sakura said coming from the hallway. "You can now see Hikari-chan. Just for tonight I'm going to let you all enter, because she wouldn't even feel you. But from tomorrow there can only be two people in the room, alright?"

"HAI" Toka and Izuna said in unison mocking her. She smiled at them.

"Come on, follow me" the pinkette turned back and walked to room 5.

Inside the room Hikari only had an IV with fluids and nothing else. She was cleaned, wearing her white robe and covered tightly with a thick blanket, even though it was spring, at night might become a little cold. She was breathing heavy, and her expression was calmed. Ryuuji left the place, to check on his sister. He said he was sure she wanted to come and see her sensei so he would tell her how she was and bring her and his grandfather in the morning. When they were alone, they asked more questions to the pinkette.

"So what really happened to her?" Izuna asked "She lost so much chakra and blood"

"Well, she used half of her chakra to create that Susanoo" Sakura explained "and the other half was required to do the massive Hirashin"

"But Susanoo doesn't take you that much chakra" the youngest Uchiha retorted.

"I remember Hikari-san told me that she could only cast some parts of it" Hashirama intervened "That day you fought in the Village I believe she used the helmet and torso to protect herself from the hit." Everybody looked at him "What? Sometimes I have good memory"

"That's right" Sakura said "Hikari-chan is not used to use a full Susanoo, she doesn't use her Mangekyo much, but when she does, it's just to upgrade her sight, movements reading and to use genjutsu. She sometimes casts parts of Susanoo and is fine, I've even seen her training to cast it complete but using all her chakra. This time she dedicated half of it, so it damaged her eyes with the abuse. And her Uncle's jutsu, with so many children required her almost more than the other half of her chakra."

"Then that light…" Tobirama said.

"It was… Hamura?" Takato completed the question.

"Yes, I'm afraid so" the pinkette answered "She was too close to open her seal and that would be disastrous right now"

"But why can't she use that chakra?" Madara asked confused.

"It's not my right to tell her story" Sakura said "But that chakra has a signature that the 'evil thing' we want to fight might sense. And we are not prepared to confront it. The Village is not prepared to confront it if he comes"

"What is that thing?" the Uchiha kept asking now worried.

"It's… let's say it's an ancient creature born from a deity's ill will" the pinkette told them. "I can't tell you more. But please, keep alert if you ever feel some dark sinister chakra, or if you sense anybody that might have the curse of hatred" Takato and Izuna looked at each other.

"Why?" they asked in unison.

"Because that thing feeds on that" the kunoichi said serious. Everybody became silent. After a while Sakura continued speaking "I suggest all of you go to get some rest. You can come back tomorrow" Takato looked at his otouto and Toka.

"It's our shift," he said "We'll stay to work"

"Hn, okay" the pinkette said "We will continue your training then"

"But Sakura-san!" Hashirama said worried "You should go to rest too!"

"I'll stay here, if she needs me it's better for me to be near" she stated not giving place to debate.

"She wouldn't want you working without resting" Madara said looking at her scornfully.

"If nobody tells her, she won't know that" Sakura winked at him and he rolled his eyes "Come on, I'll sleep here in an empty room, I promise"

"We'll take care of her aniki, don't worry!" Izuna said hugging the kunoichi playfully, and she stared at him. "You need to go back and check on the Clan. To see what is the real effect today brought to everybody"

"Hn." The eldest said not amused, he didn't want Sakura overdoing herself, and also he wanted to stay. He felt in debt with Hikari. "I shall go then" he said abruptly "see you tomorrow" he turned his back and left. Sakura looked at Izuna confused.

"Is he angry about something?" she asked.

"Maybe… who knows?" Izuna said releasing her "Aniki is very reserved"

"He is probably worried about you and Hikari-san" Takato explained. "If he is angry with someone it's with Majime, that's for sure"

"That old bastard!" Hashirama exclaimed gaining surprised faces from the present. "I can swear when I want to" he defended himself. "How could he say Madara should get married with Hikari-san? That was only to upset them both."

"What do you mean?" his brother asked.

"Madara is against settled marriage, and the marriage inside the clan." He explained "just like me, but fortunately our Clan doesn't set marriages anymore, but we still need it to be inside it. That's something we need to fix"

"I still don't see your point" the albino continued, but he noticed how Toka grew interested in what his anija was saying.

"That man doesn't want to marry Hikari-san inside the Uchiha. He used her to upset Madara, and also to upset her" Hashirama said "For them she is a descendant of Uchiha deflectors"

"That's right" Izuna said "And deflectors are bad seen by our clan elders! I won't be surprised if those idiots were the ones that made father kick Hikari´s Great grandfather from the Clan" The Senju nodded.

"He just wanted to embarrassed her in front of everybody" he finished.

"But that doesn't explain what he said about your mother" Sakura intervened "He's lucky Hikari was the one to slap him, because I was infusing chakra on my fist" everybody sweat dropped.

"Uchiha women are very protective of their children" Takato explained "And our mother wasn't the exception. Also, she didn't want us to become assassins like father. He was lost, but even though she knew that, she never gave up hope. She confronted him a lot when we were kids, and she also confronted the council. They hated her" he added lowering his head. "She's the reason Madara nii did not became a monster like father, and they never forgave her".

"I don't remember that" Izuna said feeling down "And I'm just a year younger, why?"

"Sometimes we tend to forget what hurts us as kids" the pinkette said and the Uchiha looked at her "The mind automatically protects us from bad memories. Or maybe it was your mother that made you believe that everything was okay."

"I noticed when we were teens that she was far from the rest of the clan" he said "But I've always thought it was because of her illness"

"It was because of that" his brother said "but also because of the Council. Sora-san and Kido-san where the only ones that took care of her until…"

"I hate Majime" Izuna said looking at the floor feeling deeply sad and angry. He was very surprised when he felt a hand in his shoulder and he became astonished when he looked up and saw it was Tobirama's.

"Our mother was also mistreated by our father" he looked at him serious but sympathetically. "She did everything she could to protect us, to protect Hashirama's Innocence." Izuna's eyes widen and he looked from him to the eldest Senju. "Our council wasn't as bad as yours fortunately, but in the end she only wanted the man whom she loved to love her back. And he never did."

"Why are you so supportive with me?" the Uchiha asked confused.

"Because I don't want you to fall in the curse of hatred" everybody looked at him. The albino felt uncomfortable and he released Izuna's shoulder. "I mean, I'm concerned for the Village" he coughed embarrassed. The Uchiha raised an eyebrow "Okay, You're starting to grow on me. Don't fall into darkness because I don't want to kill you in the future. If I do that, I won't have a rival anymore" Izuna smirked.

"But what about Takato? Isn't he your rival?" he said with a double meaning that only the mentioned could catch "Oh, I forget. He's your friend already!" Tobirama felt even more awkward, and his brother looked at him wary "I'm joking" the youngest Uchiha said laughing "Thank you Tobirama. It means a lot"

"Hn." He said and he realized it sounded Uchiha-like so he continued "Anija we should leave too and come back early in the morning." Hashirama, that was absorted with the exchange his brother had had with the Uchiha Siblings, came back to reality.

"Hai!" He exclaimed "We'll let you be, see you tomorrow Sakura-san" he greeted her "Please get some rest too"

"Hai, hai!" she said waving her hands "Just leave, good night!"

The two Senju were walking to their compound in silence. That was extremely odd for Tobirama's likeness. When they arrived to their home his brother turned back at his bedroom door.

"I like that you're slowly becoming the Tobi I knew when we were kids, you're compassionate and caring" Hashirama smiled at him "You are the best!" the albino face became red as a tomato.

"T-this doesn't mean I'm going to be best friends with them, you know?" he stuttered, he couldn't believe he had stuttered! His anija simply grinned and turned his back to enter his room.

"We'll see…" he whispered as he closed the door behind him. The youngest heard him and got in her room too. He took his robes off and prepared to sleep all flustered. He had never had friends before despite of his siblings and mother, okay also possibly Toka, but she was family. Now… two Uchiha?

* * *

The next day came fast for the Night shifters. Sakura had been a terrific teacher, and had them practicing almost all night long, especially Izuna. Hikari was right about him being adept to medic ninjutsu. He actually was the fastest learner she had had. He still had troubles with controlling the Mystic palm, but she was sure that maybe in a month he would master it.

"Oh this is tough!" the Uchiha complained "Simple healing was so much easier!"

"The mystic palm is the top healing technique" Sakura said "It mends tissue faster than basic medic ninjutsu, and not many shinobi can master it"

"How long did it take for you?" Izuna asked as he continued working on his fish.

"Three months" the pinkette explained and he paled. "But you need to remember that I was just thirteen and I had been poorly trained before that. My sensei centered my whole training on taijutsu, medic ninjutsu, chakra control and of course I had to memorize almost every medic bibliography she had."

"That sounds impossible to do for a thirteen year old" he said deadpanning.

"What can I say?" Sakura smirked "I'm pretty stubborn. Anyway, I think your progress will be faster on that area because you're a fully trained shinobi. You just need to focus completely on medic ninjutsu if it's what you want to do with your life. Keep training like always, but it needs most of your time. If you're truly interested on this, I can teach you all I know."

"Can I become your apprentice?" Izuna asked, his expression lightening up "Like Ryuuji?"

"Yes, you can" the Pinkette said smiling "But you need to be extremely serious on your training. I don't want to waste my time"

"You won't" the youngest Uchiha "I really want to do this. I didn't know that at first, but I'm starting to feel that this is where I belong. Saving lives and healing."

Meanwhile, his brother and Toka were watching the whole scene deeply moved. They looked at each other with complicity. Izuna's whole demeanor had change a lot within the last month. He was open, and expressive, Takato thought. He was always like that, but not with outsiders. And he had also seemed to find his calling. He was grateful to Sakura and Hikari for saving them, for letting him recover his younger sibling from the dark path that he was turning to because of his hatred for the Senju. That thought made him remember something.

"Sakura-san?" he called.

"Yes Takato-san?" she asked.

"Can I ask you something?" he enquired "In private…" Izuna looked at his brother not understanding, and then he looked at the Senju. Sakura seemed dubious but compelled anyway '_Maybe it's something related to Hikari, or about his health'._

"Sure, come with me to take a round" she reached for the door. "You two keep practicing. Izuna-san, check on Toka's work and help her if she needs it" she ordered. Both shinobi nodded and the eldest Uchiha followed her. They walked through the Hospital corridors checking for patients and the buildings conditions.

"So" the pinkette asked "What did you want to ask to me?" The Uchiha stopped on his tracks and looked at her.

"I-I…" he started nervous "I wanted to know more about the curse of hatred, I didn't want to speak in front of Izuna or Toka". The kunoichi was confused about this sudden interest.

"What about the Curse?" she asked.

"You said that Uchiha were more adept to it because the Sharingan is linked to our emotions" he explained "Is that so?"

"Yes, that's true" Sakura answered "What is your concern?"

"Some days…" he started "Some days ago I got pretty angry with Izuna, we fought in the roof while he was trying to teach me how to mold healing chakra. I got extremely angry at something he had said and punched him. My Sharingan was on but I didn't use any chakra. He was looking at me and…" he made a pause.

"What?" she was starting to worry

"He hugged me." He simply said "He hugged me and told me that he didn't want me to feel like that anymore. He was worried and after all you have said I'm also starting to worry."

"You had a sibling's fight, nothing more" the pinkette tried to sound more at ease.

"But the headache…" He explained. "Every time I get angry or…" he didn't want to continue, and suddenly blushed. The Kunoichi noticed that.

"Angry or… what?" she enquired "You' can tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone." He swallowed.

"Or I get jealous" Takato said looking at the floor; Sakura wasn't expecting that "every time my head starts to ache, and when the emotions increase it gets worse. I-I'm scared that I might be developing that curse"

"Have you always had this problem?" Sakura asked, deciding not to ask about the jealousy at the moment. "Do you know when it started?"

"Hn." He thought "I think it all started after the day you appeared. I mean, I remembered having a headache when I awoke my dojutsu, and I was pretty angry and hurt at that moment. But this seems different."

"How's so?" She questioned.

"This feels like something inside me that's pulsing in my head" the Uchiha explained.

"Seems like a migraine" the pinkette said "It matches the sensation. How long does it take to go away?"

"Well, most of the time it goes away suddenly" he answered "like when Izuna hugged me"

"Right and, I'm sorry to ask that, but you can trust me I won't tell anybody" she continued "What about the Jealousy?" His eyes widened.

"W-well…" Takato felt trapped, so he took a deep breath and said "Sometimes, when I see Hikari-san talking with Tobirama, or hear her speaking about him I-I…" he felt silly, like a small boy. Sakura nodded comprehending what he meant.

"Why does it go away when you are jealous?" the kunoichi asked serious, she didn't want him to feel worse. He made a pause to think.

"It generally goes away when a happy feeling or sensation comes around" the Uchiha explained "Like when I talked with Megumi about Hikari-san, or…" he cleared his throat "…when she smiles at me." Now it was Sakura's eyes turn to widen. She thought her friend liked this man, but she never thought she was going to hear that he liked her back. She was not used to Uchiha being so open.

"You like her" she said almost in a whisper but he heard her and became red as a tomato, and she noticed so "N-No! I'm sorry, I mean. You like her, you feel something about her. That's why the jealousy, but also why you feel right. It seems to me that it might be related to the curse, but not as much as you think. Tob… I mean someone in our time told us that Uchiha loved more than any other Clan…" she didn't want to say what Edo Tensei-Tobirama had said that to Sasuke Kun. She knew those things because she had read his file, and had been present when Ibiki had read his mind.

"That seem too drastic" Takato said sweat dropping a little.

"I know, but as you've said, it's because of the Sharingan, 'The eye of emotion'." Sakura explained "And negative emotions have a bigger effect on the dojutsu's developing, but also positive emotions calm you down. Her smile, Izuna's hug, they put you at ease." She made a pause to elaborate what she was going to say next.

"I think the curse of hatred starts like that, with the negative emotions." She continued "But that doesn't mean that you have it or are developing it. It's not like all Uchiha's negative emotions necessarily develop the curse. You're human, you're allowed to feel bad; but they might be the door to it if you let them consume you. Any time you feel those emotions; somehow your eyes receive more chakra and give you a migraine. The pain is caused by a nerve inflammation that's in between the eyebrow, the upper part of the nose and the eyeball. We need to check your sight when something like that happens so we can see if it's only a migraine or if there some sort of a "cloud" feeling on your mind"

"Cloud?" The Uchiha asked. She had said a lot, but that sounded odd.

"Yes, it's a way to explain it" The pinkette said "Or maybe a pressure in your forehead behind the center, a filled sensation, a dark feeling."

"I don't think I've ever felt something like that before" he said "But I was at my limit when I fought Izuna, maybe…"

"We don't know for sure that" Sakura calmed him down "Please not over worry. Let me check your eyes and your mind please." The shinobi followed her and he sat where she told him. She put her hands on his head and they started to glow green. "Your eyes' chakra coils seem fine, also the nerve, but it seems it has been swollen not long ago." She made a pause "Your corneas are a bit damaged, that might be from the use of the Sharingan. I'll heal that for you"

"Hikari-san told me to check my eyes with you in one of her letters" Takato explained "I told her that my sight sometimes felt weaker. I'm sorry I didn't ask for that sooner"

"It's okay, it's not that much damage" she said smiling "Though I'm starting to worry about your eldest brother, he might be overusing the Sharingan"

"He won't come to you to ask for a checkup" the Uchiha said smiling at her "maybe you should force him on that"

"Don't worry, I'll tell him that I checked up on you because I detected you had some problems while reading small texts." She said simply not getting his double meaning "Okay, I will check on your brain now. If there's something curse of hatred-related it should appear there like some sort of black spot"

"How do you know that?" he asked her intrigued.

"I'll tell you once I'm finished, okay?" Sakura answered, and proceeded to check his brain with more green chakra. It seemed fine, there weren't any signs of dark chakra at all, but when she wanted to go deeper something repelled her and made her suddenly take her hands off the Uchiha.

"What's going on?" Takato asked worried "Did you find something wrong?"

"N-no, it's fine, don't worry!" she tried to sound relaxed, something big repelled her, but she couldn't figure out what or why. "It's just that I couldn't check deeper in your brain because it seemed something didn't allow me to do so."

"What?" the Uchiha pale "Does it mean…?"

"You're fine, you don't have the curse of hatred, Takato" Sakura took him from his shoulders "Look at me" the man did as she said "Relax. You're fine. Do you want to know why I know that?" He nodded. "Come on, let's go to the roof and I'll tell you"

They went upstairs and the sky was starting to clear, dawn might be near. She went to the railing and he followed her.

"After the war, I attended the last Uchiha heir, Sasuke-kun." Sakura started her tale "He had been consumed by the curse of hatred. I think you know some of the story. He was the one whose life was spared by Itachi-San, his elder brother."

"I remember that…" Takato answered.

"I was, also with Naruto, Sasuke-kun's teammate since academy." She continued "we witnessed his downfall to darkness and couldn't do anything because we were kids. It became worse when he was attacked by a man that inoculated him something called the cursed mark, a sort of natural chemical that increased his power whilst he fell into hatred." She made a pause "He left the Village when we were almost 13, and when we saw him again he was a coldhearted teen, a killer. After the war the curse disappeared. I think that Naruto beating the hell out of him made him see the light. He even apologized to me for all the suffering I felt because of him." She sighed.

"He had a reason to fall like that…" the Uchiha reasoned "I don't know how I would react if my brother did what Itachi-san was forced to do".

"You're right about that. But he was always sort of an asshole" The pinkette added laughing bitterly "I was a silly girl that followed him everywhere, but even with his family alive he was an obnoxious little brat. Hikari-chan always told me so, but I wouldn't listen"

"Were you in love with him?" he asked bluntly. Sakura blushed.

"Well, I did." She smiled softly "I used to love him… above all his hatred, above all his crimes. I wanted to save him, but in the end when he was already fine, I realized that the feeling I had wasn't the same anymore. I love him as I love Naruto; it became more like a fraternal feeling."

"So you're not in love with him anymore…" Takato reasoned "That's good…" he said in lower voice thinking about his aniki.

"Beg your pardon?" she asked confused.

"I mean…" he had to come up with something really fast "I mean it's good for you. Imagine if you had left the person you love in a present you can't come back to. It will be so unjust"

"Oh, that" she said relaxed "Well yes, you're right. It would be heartbreaking. I guess we both were lucky on that, thought Hikari really misses Naruto, and I do too. Also my best friend"

"I know that it's not the same, but you have plenty of friends here" the Uchiha said smiling kindly. "You both do"

"I know" she said "we know that. We're lucky to have you all." She started walking to the roof's door "And don't worry, I won't tell Hikari-chan what you feel." Takato became red and nervous again, he had forgotten he confessed that to Sakura for Kami's sake!

"I-I…" he tried to answer.

"Hey! Hikari-chan is almost like a sister to me" the pinkette said "and you make her smile. What else can I ask for her during these times?" she continued walking and before going downstairs again she turned back and told him "You have an ally on my, I won't say anything. But if you ever make her cry, I'll crush your bones, Uchiha heir or not" she smirked and disappeared through the door.

Takato sighed and smiled, taking what they have spoken. He had confessed to Sakura that he felt something about her friend, and he felt at ease with that but… for some reason he was worried about what have repelled Sakura from his mind.

"Maybe it was my gift?" he said out loud to himself while looking at the now lit up sky as he also went downstairs.

* * *

Izuna had been helping Toka all the time the other two had left. She was improving fast with his help, he event dared to think that it was because of him that she understood everything quicker. He caught her looking at him strangely, and he could have sworn he saw her blushing a little. But he was not going to dream with that. He had to focus on his studies.

The Senju kunoichi, on the other hand, was debating herself whether to speak with him about anything, just to have a chat or not. She wanted to know him better but felt silly having this kind of thoughts when he was so concentrated in his task… and she didn't want to disturb him, so she focused too. When Sakura arrived with Takato she was already healing the fish all by herself.

"What took you so long?" Izuna asked the arriving duo.

"Come on, it was just 30 minutes" his brother said.

"You went to check on Hikari-chan without us!" the youngest demanded. Meanwhile Sakura was looking for a piece of paper, and the three of them looked at her curious.

"Here," she said to Takato "Try to read this" The Uchiha remembered what she had said about his sight and grabbed the paper. To his amaze he could read letters that he thought were lines before his treatment.

"WHOA! It says something here!" he said pointing the former 'line'. The pinkette smiled

"You can make an appointment if you ever have trouble with your eyes again" She said "That reminds me, Izuna-san, I need to check your eyes. It seemed Takato-san here had a problem with Sharingan over use. Can you come with me? You two keep practicing." The youngest Uchiha followed her.

"You had sight problems?" Toka asked the other Uchiha.

"Yes, but I didn't know it was that bad…" he said, "I always thought this was a line, but it's text!"

"Really!?" the Senju was pretty surprised "And Sakura chan cured you? This is so awesome!"

"Indeed" he couldn't believe that his questioning would lead to him having a better sight.

* * *

"So, you think I have the same problem like my brother?" Izuna asked "Why couldn't you check up on me there?"

"Because it might feel weird and I also wanted to speak with you about some stuff." Sakura said, and the shinobi looked at her concerned.

"Is it about Takato? He is worried about the curse of hatred, isn't he?" he asked. '_KAMI HE'S BRIGHT!'_ Inner and Sakura thought at unison.

"Um, no" the pinkette said "I was going to ask about Madara-san's sight, but what do you think Takato-san might be worried about that?" That took the Uchiha off guard.

"Hn. Aniki never complains, but if Taka-nii had his eyes bad, it's probably that Madara-nii's sight might be worse"

"Right, I'm going to ask him to let me run a checkup." She said serious "I'll tell him that I've realized that you both have some reading problems. He might compel with that".

"Mm… maybe" Izuna said "And about that curse…" he needed to know more.

"What about that?" It was strange for her to have this chat again with the other Uchiha sibling. '_Kami, they might be very connected' _she thought.

"I saw Takato's worried face when you said that the creature you need to catch feeds on that" he said "And I remember feeling nii-san's aura different some days ago when we fought. Did he mention that?"

"No, he did not" Sakura lied. She wasn't going to break doctor-patient confidence. "But if you're worried about that, when I healed his eyes I also could check his brain and it didn't seem to be affected by the curse"

"How can one know that?" Izuna asked.

"Because the curse leaves marks on the owner's brain" the pinkette explained. "Black marks. Also it gives a weird feeling of a cloud or darkness inside your forehead. So relax, your brother is fine"

"Can you check on me too?" he asked. I've nerve felt extremely badly, but I used to hate the Senju with all my heart.

"Okay, I'll check on you!" she said smiling. She proceeded to do the same she did with the other Uchiha, but this time it went smoother. Nothing repelled from his mind.

"So, what do you think?" Izuna asked intrigued "It really felt weird in my eyes"

"You're fine. You're clean of the curse, but you had your corneas more damaged than your brother's" Sakura explained "They are all healed. Open your eyes"

"WOW!" he exclaimed looking at the pinkette close, she was just a meter far from him. "You also have pink lashes! Man I didn't see shit" Sakura burst into laughter and that's how Madara, Tobirama and Hashirama found them. The Uchiha Patriarch felt a new headache coming and he did not know why.

*****Author's note*****

**Oh, Uchiha are so possessive! Hahaha Well I hope you like this Chapter! I'm starting working on the next one. How long will Hikari be out?**

**Hope you like this and please stay safe. Thanks to Ania980 as always!**


	29. Sharingan and Curse

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

"I'm so jealous" The Senju said, Sakura looked at him surprised "Night shift is more fun, it's so unfair"

"Oh, Kami! You really start being annoying early anija" Tobirama said.

"Don't be jealous" the pinkette joked, "I was healing Izuna's sight and just now he realizes I have pink lashes. His reaction was fun!"

"You have pink lashes?" the Senju asked as he got closer "Whoa! I've never noticed that"

"Really?" she asked "I must check your sight too then" she smiled. "Good Morning by the way!" she mocked. "Tobirama-san, Madara-san, good morning!" she bowed.

"Good morning" both Senju answered.

"Hn." That's all Madara said. Sakura's expression fell a little with his lack of enthusiasm.

"How is Hikari-san?" The albino asked.

"She's doing fine" the pinkette told them, trying to forget the feeling she had with Madara's greeting. "She's still asleep though, it's a matter of time that she wakes up. You can go and see her in her room" she showed them the corridor. "Izuna-san, could you tell your brother and Toka to come?"

"Hai" the mentioned said, not looking at her but looking at his brother, who had a weird expression on his face. As he left, Sakura reached for the Uchiha Patriarch's arm who was walking towards the hall.

"Madara-san" she called and he flinched at her touch. She quickly took her arm back, none of them realized Tobirama suspiciously started to walk slowly …"Is everything okay?" she asked worried.

"Yes" he grunted.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" she said trying her best to smile, but she felt blue with his behavior.

"I would like to check on Hikari-san first, if that's not a problem" he said serious.

"Um, oh." The Pinkette said "Okay." She lowered her head. The Uchiha felt a pang on his chest with her expression, as he was turning to the corridor he said "We can talk after that"

"H-Hai" Sakura said.

Meanwhile Izuna, Takato and Toka appeared at the entrance, where the pinkette was, a little gloomy.

"What's going on with you?" Takato asked.

"I think your brother might be mad at me or something" She said.

"That's not possible" both Uchiha said in unison, making the pinkette's cheeks match her hair.

"They are right" Toka said "Madara seems to be fond of you, he would never be mad. Maybe he had a rough night with those shitty elders"

"Oh! That's right!" Izuna said "I also felt he was strange today, it might have been that. Don't worry I'll talk to him" he said and left to Hikari's room.

At the same time Ryuuji arrived with his grandfather and Megumi. They greeted everybody, and Sakura told them to wait here so she could make the visitors to leave the room so the little girl could see her sensei.

* * *

Inside Hikari's room, two Senju and one Uchiha were standing near her bed, but not invading.

"We should open the curtains for her" Hashirama said a bit anxious as he motioned to the window "Some natural light might suit her" Tobirama grunted, but he thought his brother was right, and he looked at Madara, that remained silent.

"What's going on with you?" the albino asked concerned. The Uchiha looked at him surprised of his behavior.

"I just had a rough night" he said.

"Did the elders give you a hard time?" the Senju asked. Hashirama had left the window and also looked at his friend worried. Madara sighed.

"Hn. No," he said "Only Majime, but all the council and maybe the Clan is against him after what he said about mother and how he behaved whit our guests"

"So everything is fine!" his best friend exclaimed with joy.

"So it seems" the Uchiha said waving his shoulders. Tobirama raised one eyebrow.

"It seems not" he said looking at him serious "It's okay, you don't need to tell us, but you better treat Sakura-san better. Without her and Hikari-san the children would be dead" the Uchiha's eyes widened. "Yes, I've heard how you spoke to her." He added knowingly. His counterpart made a pause.

"I feel…" Madara's headache improved, but it was not because of the Senju. It was because something else. Everything that happened yesterday had messed up with his head. "Never mind."

The albino looked at him with attention, and finally nodded, he didn't want to meddle with his private affairs. He was sure he will solve whatever was going through his mind, but he was going to pay attention. The same preoccupation he had with Izuna the day before overcame him. '_Damn these Uchiha growing on me'._

"Aniki…?" Izuna said as he entered in the room "Can I talk to you?" he asked when his brother looked at him.

"Tell me" he said serious. The youngest had a bad feeling about that.

"It's something personal" he said, he looked at Tobirama and Hashirama apologetically and they nodded showing him that it was fine "would you come with me?"

"Hn." Madara said.

"Oh come on Madara!" Hashirama complained "You're really harsh this morning! We have a lot to do! Go speak with your brother and brighten up, would you?"

"Okay, Okay." The man grunted "Stop pestering me" he looked at Izuna and followed him through the door, but didn't see Sakura coming and she bumped across him. His whole attitude changed when he saw her caressing her forehead with her eyes closed in pain. "I'm sorry" he said grabbing her hands to take them from her forehead, he needed to see if he hadn't hurt her. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Ah… yes" she said as she opened her eyes to look at him. His headache waved a little looking at her green eyes. "I'm sorry, It was my fault I-I" she looked at her hands that were still grabbed by him, her cheeks slightly pink.

"It's okay" he said, and realizing that let her go. "It's my fault" he added embarrassed and followed a very amused Izuna.

The pinkette turned to look at them walking away, feeling confused. He seemed different now. '_Maybe he felt bad because he thought he had hurt me'_. She shook her head and entered the room, where she found Tobirama scolding Hashirama for being shouting next to a convalescent person. He stopped when he heard her laughing.

"Gentlemen, please could you wait outside?" she said smiling; those two made her feel better "Megumi and Ryuutaro San want to visit Hikari-chan."

* * *

"What are we doing in the roof?" Madara asked his brother.

"This seems to be the best place to speak in the whole Village" Izuna answered to himself ironically. The elder looked at him plainly. "Would you tell me what is going on?

"I had a tough night" he didn't want to explain himself, because he didn't even know how or what he felt.

"Did something happen with the elders?" his brother insisted. The eldest sighed.

"They were angry for Hikari-san's 'insolence'" he finally said giving his back to him.

"How could they…" Izuna made a pause because he realized his brother started to walk to the railing and bent over it. He heard him sigh again.

"But they were even angrier with Majime, so she's safe for now." Madara had his eyes closed, enjoying the breeze.

"Why didn't you start with that?" the youngest asked "So? Tell me what happened."

"They said that it was impolite for our honored guest to slap him" the Leader explained "and then a discussion started about Majime san being out of line, and that she had reacted to protect the Uchiha honor… some old people's silly things. Eventually, they moved to the way she acted towards the hostage situation, and asked me about her state. I told her she was near chakra depletion and that she wasn't waking up. The council started to murmur more and Sora-san made a point"

"What did she said?" he needed to know. His aniki was delivering information in parts.

"She actually asked to everybody if they cared more about an outsider slapping an elder, than the disrespectful act that man had with the heir family. " he answered "And of course that that outsider happened to save all Uchiha and Senju children, so she also questioned people's priorities"

"I believe they realized she really had a point there." Izuna stated.

"Well, it was a long meeting." The eldest said "But it was a good one. Hikari-san won't be questioned about anything, and Majime has been suspended from his charge for a month." His brother's face lit up, but then his expression fell.

"He's going to be a pain in the ass now" he said

"When wasn't he one?" Madara said smirking. "We' managed worse"

"Yes that's right!" Izuna's face brightened again.

"HN" he agreed, his mood falling again.

"Did something else happen?" His otouto approached him slowly with a curious look.

"Sakura san was also pardoned" the patriarch added "some of Majime's minions stated that she was about to punch him too and that she made that small earthquake happen."

"Man they can't let them be" he passed a hand through his hair with exasperation.

"And they also said that despite the hateful way Majime displayed, he was right on something" the somber look his aniki worried Izuna deeply.

"What is that?" he asked

"Uchiha law says I have to marry soon" Madara stated.

"WHAT?" His younger brother screamed.

"Yes, apparently if I'm not married at 25 our family might lose their position as heirs." He said waving his arms annoyed.

"Don't tell me they agreed you should marry Hikari-san?" Izuna asked startled.

"No, after that scene she's out of discussion" Madara smirked.

"Then it's settled!" Izuna exclaimed and his brother looked at him not understanding. "You should ask Sakura-san to marry you"

"WHAT!?" now it was the eldest who became astonished, and also red of embarrassed.

"Yes! She is a great candidate" his otouto said clapping his hands in a very Hashirama-way.

"I won't do that" he managed to say upset.

"Why, don't you like her?" the youngest asked blinking in confusion.

"T-that has nothing to do…" Madara felt a vein of his forehead was about to pop, put his index between his eyebrows to release the pain.

"Come on aniki, I could see that you liked her even before mi sight was cured." Izuna carefully mocked. He didn't want to upset it more, but it was his job as the most forward sibling.

"AGH!" the Clan leader exclaimed infuriated grabbing his head. That made his brother took a step back from him.

"Aniki! W-what's…?" he tried to asked but he was interrupted.

"You make fun of me!" Madara exclaimed moving from side to side exasperated "You keep saying that 'I like her'" he said the last part with a saccharine voice, "but then, there you go being so open and also flirting with _her._"

"I'm not flirting!" Izuna screamed outraged "I'm not even interested in her"

"Then why do you act like that?" his brother demanded "You were so close to her, looking at her _eyelashes_ for kami's sake! So inappropriate…" his headache was worsening, and his aura was darkening.

"I really didn't see shit!" Izuna defended himself "She had also healed Takato today. I even told her to check if we had the curse of hatred too."

"The curse!?" the patriarch exclaimed "What the hell has it to do with anything!?

"I speak for myself, but I sure Takato was afraid like me, because we had hated the Senju for so long…" Izuna explained "Fortunately, we don't have anything. We're fine. But our corneas were very damaged because of the Sharingan's overuse."

"You were having sight problems?" Madara asked concerned, his sudden outburst slowly fading now. It was a lot of information to take, but he felt better when he heard his siblings didn't have that curse, though he didn't know how Sakura San could check that. "Why didn't you tell me?

"We didn't know, we thought we were seeing fine." The youngest dismissed "And Sakura-san is also worried about you and your eyes too." That statement took the Clan leader aback. '_Was that what she wanted to talk about? She was worried about me and I mistreated her because I was Jealous?' 'HA, FINALY YOU ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE JEALOUS. TAKE A BREAK MAN!'_ his inner voice interrupted his thoughts. He shook his head and looked at his little brother back.

"I thought you liked her and that you…" Madara tried to say, he actually didn't know what to say, or what to feel. Nothing he had felt made sense now.

"I do like her" Izuna interrupted and hurried to continue because he saw his brother's face. "Like a friend, almost like a sister. It's the same with Hikari-chan." He made a pause and thought out loud "I would never see them other way, because I already…" he stopped talking abruptly before he spilled the beans, but his aniki had listened anyway and that reaction seemed to change his demeanor completely.

"What?" he asked worried "You already what?" his otouto sighed.

"Well, you won't like this." he said. He was going speak about his feelings with him, even if it felt awkward. He needed to know. "I already like someone, and she's not any of those two"

"I don't get it…" the eldest said "when...? Who..?"

"It's Toka, Toka Senju." He answered "and I mean I like her in a romantic way"

"You and Toka?" Madara repeated astonished "are you… Are you in love with her?" The Leader didn't have any problem with her; actually he was fond of the Senju Kunoichi. She was smart, a great warrior and seemed similar to his brother in a matter of humor. But this… was indeed troublesome for his otouto.

"I have feelings for her, they're not 'love' per sé yet" the youngest said and exhaled "But I think I'm falling".

"Does she…?" the Uchiha Patriarch couldn't believe he was having this talk with his sibling. It was a serious talk and it felt like for the first time he was seeing him as a grown up. He had matured, maybe even more than him especially in what feelings meant.

"I don't know" Izuna simply answered "I'd like to think she does. But it doesn't matter anyway"

"I-I" his brother couldn't find the right words to say so he kept silent.

"Don't say anything" the youngest added "but the next time you ever feel jealous, remember this chat"

"I was going to say that I will help you." Madara finally said "I can't know for sure if she feels the same. But I will free you from the stupid in-breeding tradition. I won't allow a ridiculous Clan law to prevent you to be happy. Let me…"

"You too Aniki" His otouto interrupted him, and he looked at him serious.

"I'm not in the same position as you are" The eldest answered "As the Clan leader law says I have to marry an Uchiha woman."

"Then fight about that too" he said grabbing his hands in desperation. He didn't want to see his aniki suffering.

"I'm the leader and I can fight for exceptions for others. But I cannot do that with me. Also in what feelings are concerned…" he tried to escape from his brother's statement. He was not in love with her.

"You also like Sakura-san" Izuna countered

"I don't…" Madara tried to cut his brother's delusion but he was as stubborn as he was.

"Oh come on Aniki, you can't still be in denial" the youngest exploded "you may not have feelings for her yet, but you're slowly falling for her too." He tried to calm down "It's the same with Takato… It is really like Kido-san said days ago: we're all in that path. Sooner or later it doesn't matter when, we're doomed."

"Takato?" the Clan Leader asked taking advance of the change of subject –not that Izuna haven't noticed that- "Hikari-san?" he also asked and his otouto nodded. "I've always teased him since day one, but he never told me…"

"That's because we're not seeing each other much" his brother explained "But some days ago we had a fight and he confessed that to me"

"You fought?" Madara asked surprised, he was missing a lot with his siblings. Maybe it was because of that they were afraid of the curse "About what?"

"Nothing much" Izuna waved his hand dismissing the subject "just middle brother-youngest brother stuff" he smirked. "You should talk to him. You always were more confidants with him than with me in some aspects. I think he is the one that makes us open up, like the glue that sticks us together" Madara raised an eyebrow and his brother added "It even think it's kind of wrong to have this conversation without him" the patriarch also smirked.

"I will talk to him. I can ask for permission to leave my shift early. It's not like I'm essential." He added joking "He must be pretty worried about Hikari-san"

"He is. He tried to pretend not to, but he couldn't focus all night long." The youngest sighed "Also… "he added in a whisper, Madara had to get close to him to hear "I think, Tobirama might be interested in her too, so that might be worrying him more."

"No kidding!?" he exclaimed completely shocked "you're not serious"

"Yes I am" Izuna said crossing his arms "Just pay attention and you'll get the signs."

"Tobirama!?" the Leader thought out loud" that's supper odd." He smirked and shook his head. "Well" the Clan Leader said looking at the sky "we must go, my shift is starting and you need some rest"

"Okay" his brother compelled "but please, apologize to Sakura-san" Madara sighed.

"I will." He promised.

"And don't overthink your feelings." His otouto said wisely "It's not written in stone that nobody can develop feelings for another person in a matter of months"

"It's been only one month" Madara fell for that.

"And that's my point" Izuna rose his hands, resting his case.

"Come on, you brat" The Eldest grabbed him by his neck and ruffled his hair "Let's go back, your lady might be worried"

"Shut up" he said blushing.

It felt really good to have opened with him even though he would never accept he felt something for the pinkette, at least not at the moment. Now Takato was left. The more he spoke this way with his siblings, the better he felt. Like if he had a power that made him invincible.

* * *

Megumi and his grandfather stayed almost like half an hour inside the Takishima's room. When they left, Izuna and Toka entered to greet her goodbye. Even though she was asleep Sakura told them that she might listen.

Takato entered next, fortunately alone. Somehow Madara started to speak with both Senju, as Sakura accompanied him. She finally stayed outside after motioning him to enter and winking at him. When he was next to her bed he grabbed a chair.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner" he spoke to her "I didn't know how to act. I tried to put my mind at ease." He felt silly, like talking to the void.

"I'm sorry you're in this state, you were just awesome! I really hope you wake up soon." Takato continued "I-I…" he couldn't say what he thought; It seemed too much for him. He got up and added "please, be safe" he said caressing her right cheek. "I'll come by later. I promise." He turned his back and left not realizing her hand moving as she unconsciously reacted at his words.

Outside the room Tobirama was waiting. He tried not to feel jealous; he was free to greet the brunette if he wanted to.

"I need to talk to you" the Senju said serious.

"Yes?" Takato asked worried he might say something about Hikari and he might not be able to handle that.

"I'm going to train Megumi these days, she already knows me." Tobirama stated. The Uchiha kept listening with attention thought he didn't know where he was going to.

"That's awesome" he answered when he realize the man was waiting for a response.

"But, I will need help because Ichigo is also training with her now, as a sparring mate of her own age." The albino continued and asked "Would you mind helping me with him?" Takato blinked, this was not what he was expecting to hear. He quickly processed what was being asked for.

"Sure!" he said "I'd be honored to help" Tobirama nodded.

"You might need some rest. We'll start training at noon then." He said

"I'm fine" Takato dismissed him waving his hands.

"No you're not. You need rest" the Senju said with authority not leaving place for discussion "I'll see you at noon at the Village's gates." he turned his back and left. He never entered the Takishima's room again. That left Takato startled.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Madara asked his brother when he saw him walking down the hall.

"I think so," he was still surprised "Tobirama just asked me to help him training Megumi and Ichigo while Hikari-san is unwell."

"Today?" his brother asked, and he nodded "But you need to rest"

"I know." Takato said raising his eyebrows "And That Senju seems to know that too. He changed the Training hour to noon so I can sleep some hours." The eldest was amazed.

"That's too considerate for him" he said. The middle Uchiha shrugged.

"Last night he told Izuna he's growing on him" he answered "Maybe he's really opening a little."

"I feel that too… he seemed worried about me earlier" Madara said and considered his little brother's words on the roof. "Well, go to sleep then" he said waving his hands to kick him out. "I'll found you later. I would like to talk to you; we don't see each other much these days"

"I could use some big brother's time" Takato smiled, and his aniki hugged him over the neck.

"Go to sleep, don't make me force you" he said and pushed him away ruffling his hair.

"Okay!" the youngest said fixing his hair "I'll leave. Just let me be"

* * *

After finishing the morning rounds Sakura sat Ryuuji to practice molding chakra and put Hashirama as his mentor. She gave him the chakra scrolls for the fish in order to help him expel chakra. The Senju also practiced because if Ryuuji couldn't achieve something in minutes, he will heal the fish. The pinkette took the opportunity to speak with Madara.

"Madara-san?" she asked timidly, he seemed doing better than earlier that day, but he wasn't speaking to much to her. He looked up from his fish. He had just healed it. "Can I speak with you for a moment?" The Uchiha nodded silently and put his fish inside the water again. "Boys, we'll be back in a minute" the mentioned nodded and kept working and when the duo left they exchanged knowing looks and laughed.

* * *

"Before you say something, I want to apologize for my behavior this morning" Madara said serious once they closed the door behind them. He was looking to the floor, so Sakura could realize he felt ashamed. "I had a rough night, though it's the third time I've said it this morning and I'm starting to feel it like a lame excuse"

"Don't say that!" the pinkette said "I'm glad you had a though night though" The Uchiha looked at her confused "That means you're not mad at me" she smiled childishly and winked.

"H-How… Why?" Madara almost screamed, he noticed that so he lowered his voice "Why would I be mad at you? How could that be possible?" she was taken aback with that.

"I-I don't know!" the kunoichi said hushing " You also were kind of rude last night when you left, and I understand that the situation was stressful, but you felt so different when you gave my gift."

"I…" He started, he remembered the exchange, and he had told her she was beautiful. It felt so embarrassing now. He fought back the heat that rose up his face. "There's a lot going on in my mind right now" he paused "Can we go somewhere else to talk?"

"Do you want to go to the roof?" the pinkette offered.

"What's with that place!?" he enquired "Izuna took me there today and said it was the best place to talk" she started to laugh.

"I guess that's because it's isolated from the people at the Hospital." She said smiling. "Hey, come on, follow me" and she motioned down the hall, passing the patients room. "You built this place as a future laboratory" she said as they entered. "I believe we'll start working here next month"

"Really?" he said marveled.

"Yes, Izuna-san seems to be extremely adept for medic ninjutsu, so I think he could help us" Sakura explained and he found himself to be pleased and proud of his otouto. "Hikari-chan had told me so, and I could witness it tonight. I've even offered him to be my apprentice with Ryuuji"

"You're kidding!" The Uchiha's face lit up. All jealousy he might have felt when he saw his otouto with her had disappeared for good. "Izuna is going to be a dedicated medic nin?"

"I hope that's not a problem for you. He looks like he has found his nindo" she said.

"How can that be a problem?" Madara asked naturally "He is a good warrior, but knowing that he wants to heal and save people instead of killing them… you don't know the weight it takes out from me." The pinkette was surprised with his statement.

"Were you worried about Izuna?" She asked curious.

"Well, yes" he confessed "I always found his hatred for Senju so similar to father's. And when you started to talk about the curse, I remembered the way he acted towards Hikari-san in the beginning. And now he is so fond of you both." He stopped to evaluate if he was going to say what he thought next and decided to do so "I acted weirdly towards you today because I felt his behavior was maybe a bit inadequate, Izuna I mean. Yesterday he hugged you; today he was too close to your face in public. He's been kind of a flirt since he was a teen and I didn't want him messing around with you. I thought wrong and I'm sorry" his cheeks were slightly pink, but hers matched her hair now.

"Oh Kami, what did you think of?" Sakura said utterly embarrassed "That me and Izuna… "

"No! Wait!" he moved his hands in front of him to make her stop in her tracks. "I thought he was being improper to you. I never thought you…" he felt more self-conscious now he had said it "It's not that I have a say in your life, I'm not controlling you or anything… I just" he was a mess '_SHUT UP NOW, YOU'RE MAKING IT WORSE. LOOK AT HER FACE, SHE'S LIKE A TOMATO!'_

"Okay, okay, let's not get weird." She took a deep breath and calmed down "He was never inappropriate with me or Hikari-chan, you need to know that. Also, none of us is interested in pursuing any other relationship rather than friendship with him"

"You don't need to say…" Madara said embarrassed.

"I must. I feel I would be betraying your trust if I ever go behind your back" she was pinker than ever but she still said everything very composed. "You have been so kind with us. With me. I don't want to let you down". For a moment he was out of words. He wasn't expected that answer, and for what it looked, she wasn't expecting to say that either because she cleared her voice.

"Um, I wanted to check on your eyes." The pinkette said before the talk became more uncomfortable "Both your siblings had their sight deteriorated. I'm worried for you." The man ignored the warm feeling in his chest.

"Y-yes" he was glad she had changed the subject, it was so awkward. She had sort of admitted that he was important to her. "Izuna told me that, and also that you checked them for the curse of hatred." She was stunned to hear that his sibling had told him everything.

"I'm glad you're so sincere between yourselves" she smiled.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked quickly, before falling in another embarrassing moment. She became aware of her work.

"Just sit here and close your eyes" Sakura asked him. He immediately obeyed. The realization hit her hard when she understood with that simple gesture that that man in front of her, Uchiha Madara, fully trusted her. He sat to offer her his most precious possession, his dojutsu, to be checked. She remembered the first time she taught him medic ninjutsu, and how apprehensive he was to close his eyes. It had been what, only a week? Their relationship grew up pretty quick. Her hands started to glow green and inner appeared just when she was starting to check on him. "_CHA RELATIONSHIP!? WOOHOO WE'RE BETTER EVERYDAY" 'Shut up, I need to concentrate right now. GO AWAY!" _She shouted her consciousness.

"Okay, this might feel weird" she felt his chakra coils, they were in fairly good shape, she recovered them completely though. "Hn, Your corneas are very damaged, this will take some time. Please be patient."

"This doesn't feel weird at all" Madara said with his eyes still closed "It actually feels nice, comforting" It was easier to speak to her while not looking.

"Well, you'd be the first patient to say that to me." Sakura said and thanked Kami that he was with her eyes closed. Her head looked like she was going to boil in any moment. "You've used the Mangekyo Sharingan too much, but this is better than I thought"

"They are very damaged and it's better than what you thought? He asked "What did you think of? Blindness?" he joked.

"Hn." She got to say.

"Wow." Madara said when realization hit him. He had never really thought that his dojutsu could be so bad "So how is it that I don't realize I have bad sight?"

"The eye is a complex organ full of tiny muscles" The pinkette explained while working "When your sight is having troubles it works harder to adjust and help you focus. But the harder they work the quicker you lose your sight. And also the cornea tends to burn with Sharingan overuse, mainly with the Mangekyo"

"But I need my eyes" the Uchiha said "How can I use them safely?"

"There's actually nothing I can do about it now" Sakura said "I would recommend you to come and see me anytime you feel you've overdone it. Once you've advanced in Healing ninjutsu, I can teach you to detect damage, so you can 'damage control' yourself."

"That would be good. Thank you." The man answered politely.

"I could study the Sharingan if you want to" she said "now that I have someone to compare with Hikari-can I think I can check what Takishima did that healed the blindness problem. I could never check a non-eternal Mangekyo Sharingan before"

"You've checked another Sharingan that was not Hikari-san's?" Madara asked intrigued "I've thought the clan…"

"Well, that's true." The pinkette answered. "But you have to remember that Sasuke-kun was still alive. I got to check on his eyes in prison after the war"

"Prison?" the Uchiha asked opening his eyes. She scolded him and immediately closed them again.

"Never mind, it's not important anymore" she thought out loud "Yesterday I told your brother, Takato I mean, about Sasuke-kun. I knew the curse of hatred by firsthand because he had it."

"But the man had lost his entire clan" he tried to defend him "I think that was a logical response". He saw her shaking her head.

"The curse appeared later, when we were in our pre-teen years." Sakura explained "He left the Village at the age of 13 to train to kill his brother. We saw each other back when we were 16, and he wasn't the same obnoxious but cool boy he was. He was cold… and later he became a killer. I-I…" she stopped infusing chakra in Madara's eyes, so he felt safe to be opening them at that moment. He thought she might be crying of something, but no. Her eyes were shiny, but she was fighting the feeling.

"You don't need to tell me if it hurts you" he said looking at her from his chair. The lights were dimmed so he couldn't really see any results with his sight, maybe she hadn't finished yet.

"I still hurts…" the pinkette said "That's what troubles me more. I'm over him, I've forgave him. But when I remember some situations... He was completely another person."

"He was your childhood friend" the Uchiha stated, but somehow he thought he might have been something more. He was afraid of that idea, and he knew she was not going to lie to him.

"I used to love him" Sakura confessed and Madara swallowed hard "Not just a silly crush like we've mentioned when we met in the Merchant Village. I loved him, and I made Naruto promise to me that he'll bring him back. That baka almost dies because of that promise, so I thought I could save him by… killing him"

"You tried to kill the boy you loved?" the Uchiha asked surprised. He couldn't believe that this woman that dedicated her life to save people wanted to kill someone.

"I know you must think I'm a monster" she said, this time a tear rolled down her cheek. "But he was… He had killed in cold blood someone that had his teammate as hostage, by piercing through her stomach. He was insane. He had already killed his brother and had learnt that Konoha forced him to do so, so he wanted to destroy the Village." She made a pause "I've said too much"

"Hey" Madara stood up from his chair and approached to her "You're not a monster" he wiped the tear rolling in her cheek with his sleeve. "I can't imagine how… how dangerous and sick he was to make you wanted to kill him. I think you just didn't want him to become a monster, but he was already one. You also were a loyal shinobi of your Village." She was surprised to feel all this talking so natural. He had cleaned a tear from her cheek and her heart didn't skip a beat, but it was content, and that put her at ease.

"Well, he almost killed me there." She made a point "If it wasn't for Naruto and Kakashi-sensei He would have succeeded. Oh! that makes me remember, Kakashi-sensei also had a Sharingan in one of his eyes." The shinobi was surprised with her sudden change of topic "When he was a kid he had an Uchiha teammate. During a battle sensei lost an eye, and later the Uchiha Boy got fatally injured and lost one eye too, so before dying he gave him his good one to him as a gift."

"Really?" the patriarch was curious about that. "How did the Clan take it? How did it work?"

"Oh, they were mad! But he was one of the most powerful ninjas and also The Hokage's –Hikari's Uncle- favorite apprentice, so they did nothing. As for its use, he had that eye covered most of the time. If he used the Sharingan too much it would consume all his chakra" she explained "He was Called Sharingan-no-Kakashi because of that, The Copy Nin"

"So those were the two Sharingan you could study." He deducted "He seemed a formidable man, but wasn't him that teacher that underestimated you?"

"Yes, but after I trained so hard, he really respected me more. He had always cared and loved me as a father, but like some parents do, they tend not to pay attention to their children." She laughed bitterly.

"Sakura-san, your family…" Madara dared to ask "Did you… did you leave your family in your time?" She sighed.

"No" she said "My parents died during the last war, defending a group of civilians until help came"

"I'm sorry" the Uchiha said lowering his head.

"Don't be" she interrupted looking at him without any sadness. "They died honorably as heroes" he was mesmerized by the pride accompanying those words. "It's been two years now. I'm at peace with them, I know they were proud of me, and they loved me and raised me to be the person I am now." She made a pause and tried to find his eyes that were lingering over a table "Hey! Cheer up! They have flaws of course, they used to spoil me a lot as a kid, that's why I was so annoying" She heard Madara snort.

"That's the word you hate." He remembered "He called you that way"

"That's another quite extensive story" the pinkette said smiling "Maybe in the future I will tell you more, but you'll have to buy me a coffee, because it will take long" '_CHAAA YOU DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME, ALREADY PLANNING A DATE!' _inner said in her mind '_Shut up'_.

"Noted!" Madara answered not realizing the implications of what she had said – not that she had done it on purpose, it had been an impulse. "But, continuing with what you were saying, you said that after the war you checked on that Sasuke"

"That's right" the pinkette said "I told your brother about treating him before war, but please don't say anything about the prison. Hikari-chan might kill me."

"I won't say anything, trust me" he was extremely curious to know what she was going to say. "Please?"

"Okay, sit and close your eyes again, I've haven't finished." She raised her eyebrows and smiled. The Uchiha compelled and she continued the treatment.

"Basically, even though Sasuke-kun had won over the curse, he was still a criminal enemy of all shinobi nations" she reasoned "So he was imprisoned, and he had chakra suppressors and stuff. I was assigned as his doctor because we've been teammates for too long and also because I had healed his lost arm"

"He lost an arm?" Madara asked surprised.

"Another story, another coffee" Sakura said, they both laughed. "Anyway, I could check on his eyes, but he had transplanted his brother's so they were perfectly fine, that's why I don't have actual practical knowledge about the Sharingan's adverse effects, just what he told me and I could witness."

"Okay, so if you check on someone's non transplanted Sharingan Eye's and compare it with Hikari-san's you might find a cure?" He asked hopeful.

"It's a possibility" the pinkette considered "You already gave me an Uchiha medicine book, but given the fact we have lots of Uchiha in this time, I think it's proper to study your dojutsu to help you."

"Thanks" he simply whispered. He was overwhelmed with information, but also extremely pleased with her caring.

"Done!" she said "Your corneas are like new! Do you want me to check for the curse? I only need to scan your brain, and you only must remain with your eyes closed"

"Hn. Okay" he was worried what she may find. He suddenly felt her chakra drowning his mind. It felt odd but still was pleasant. '_Maybe I'm a masochist. I hope she cannot read my mind'_ fortunately, his consciousness stayed calmed. He heard the kunoichi hum and mumble something.

"Done" she said more serious than he liked.

"Is it that bad?" he joked. Even though she was serious she did smile softly.

"Well, you don't' have the curse developed, yet" she said the las part with delicacy.

"Yet?" If there were lighter she could have seen him losing all his colors. She put her hands over his shoulders to calm him down.

"Hey, relax." Sakura said in a soothing voice "Do you trust me?" he nodded "Then listen to me. You seem to have a tendency to form some dark chakra masses in your brain, but you don't have any right now, that's why I can say you don't have the curse"

"But you said yet" Madara was worried.

"The curse starts slowly until it consumes the person. You're years away from that" she assured him "You have some trails of that chakra segregation, but somehow it's like your brain also fights against it, and it seems to be wining every time."

"My brain fights it?" he wasn't following but the idea gave him hope.

"Yes…" she answered and then added "Have you been experiencing headaches whenever you felt bad?"

"Not always" The Uchiha answered "some specific times actually".

"Well I recommend you to analyze when they appear" Sakura said "Also, do you remember if they go easily or why?" He remembered that every time he spoke to her the sense of content made him feel good, also the joy he felt with his siblings, every time he realized they were still around him. He nodded "Those headaches are caused by the Sharingan and deep emotions. Somehow when you have negative emotions like rage, angst or jealousy, something triggers with "the eye of emotion" and may or may not segregate dark chakra in your brain more easily than regular people" he looked at her surprised.

"Regular people?" the Patriarch asked.

"Oh yes," she assured "This is not an Uchiha thing only, mister." Her expression made him relax a little. "And the good thing is that even though negative emotions trigger it, positive emotions control it. That's what's happening to you. I believe any time you feel fine your brains heals completely. Of course this doesn't mean any time you have a "negative emotion" or a headache you're developing the curse per sé. You're also a human."

"I don't know why but I still feel pretty worried" Madara stated "What if I fall into darkness and that creature you've talked about finds me…" The pinkette felt a void inside her. That was what might have happened to the Madara of her time. The realization hit her. She had an opportunity here.

"He won't find you, because you won't fall into darkness" Sakura said reaching again for one of his shoulders "I won't let you. None of us will" she smiled. "Also you know about the curse now, knowledge is power". They became silent. She gave the Uchiha time to process what she had said.

"How?" he simply asked.

"You know how not to fall" she explained "don't let your mind wander into negative thoughts. We can work on some strategies and mental weapons to work with. I have been with that curse face to face lots of times during the war and trust me, you are not going to end like them, and you're not going to fall because you have light in you. You have love. The love for your siblings and this Village. You have a strong friendship with Hashirama and you have us and everybody that is entering in your life now. Even if you ever fall into despair, just the thought of that it will put your mind at ease, and you'll be fighting"

"I-I…" he said startled, he was afraid indeed but yet he felt confidence. "Thank you"

"You understand you don't have the curse, and your brain is fine, Don't you?" Sakura asked knowingly. "What I've seen is just a bit of evidence that you've have darkness, but nothing more. You are fine"

"Yes, I understand that" the Uchiha agreed this was difficult for him "Somehow I feel sad and happy, what a paradox."

"Yeah, I know what you mean" She smiled releasing his shoulder. "But trust me, you're good. Whenever you're ready I can give you some tips for you to work with your mind."

"That would be great, yes!" he tried to cheer up a little. Sakura walked to the door, so he stood up.

"Madara-san" the pinkette called from the door, he looked at him and noticed that now in the dimmed he could trace all her face features perfectly. "If that bastard of Sasuke could win to that thing being in the lowest someone can be, you will stand your fight unscratched. I know what I'm saying, you're way a better man than he could ever dream to be." She smiled and abruptly turned her back so she could make her big exit. Actually she was red of embarrassment and she didn't want him to notice _'CHA YOU DID ONE HELL OF A CONFESSION MISSY!'_ Inner exclaimed in joy '_Come on, I had to say that. It was pretty embarrassing though, but it might give encourage his faith' _Sakura argued _'DON'T LIE TO US, WE KNOW YOU REALLY FEEL THAT WAY. HE HAD STEPPED OVER EVERY TINY LITTLE REMINDER OF YOUR LOVE FOR SASUKE' _the voice had spot a nail '_Oh, I need Hikari Chan to wake up, I need to talk to her!' _Sakura lamented.

Fortunately for Sakura, Madara was frozen in his place, that statement had been too much for him. She said he was better than the man she used to love. He wasn't sure of the extents of the implications of that declaration, but one thing was sure: He had hope.

* * *

The shift continued smoothly, Sakura came back and told Ryuuji and Hashirama that Madara was adjusting to a procedure she had done in his eyes. The Senju seemed worried but when his friend entered he run to him and filled him with questions. The Uchiha was amazed of sharpness of his sight now. He could see everything in detail.

"You're getting old" he said to Hashirama

"What?" the long haired man asked confused.

"You have lots of wrinkles in your eyes" Madara mocked impassive.

"Oh Shut Up!" his friend exclaimed annoyed "You're not getting any younger either!" The Uchiha dismissed him and walked to Sakura. '_Kami, may be he's going to say something about my last line… What to do?'_ She noticed he stopped his tracks and when she dared to see he was checking her eyes.

"You do have pink lashes" he said amused "And also eye bags, you must rest now".

"What?" the pinkette asked, that took her off guard.

"Yes, you've promised me you'd sleep" the Uchiha looked at her with a frown. "I don't think you've done it during the night watch."

"I-I…" Sakura sweat dropped. He had caught her.

"Please, get some rest" he asked, his eyes showed worry. "There's another bed in Hikari-san's room, you won't be disturbed there. We'll be fine with Ryuuji and Hashirama. We have the civilian doctors and nurses. If we need you we'll wake you up."

"That's true Sensei. We got everything covered." Ryuuji said in a very mature way. That boy was growing up quickly. The pinkette was trapped, and the Hashirama moved.

"Come on!" he said grabbing her by her shoulders and taking her to the door. "Go to sleep, we'll be checking in half an hour if you're sleeping, and if not, we will be very disappointed with you"

"We will also blow the whistle with Hikari-san" said the Uchiha with a devious look. The girl rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'll go" she said defeated and left to get some rest. Her three students were grinning because they know they have won with their teamwork.

* * *

At noon Takato met Tobirama and the kids for training at the Village's gates.

"Taa-kun!" Ichigo exclaimed "You'll be training with us too!"

"Ohaio Takato-san" Megumi greeted shyly "Did you rest well?" He looked at the Albino who smirked. She was a very cute little girl.

"Hello everybody! Yes, I will be joining your training these days" the Uchiha said looking at the boy "I did rest well Megumi-chan, thank you for your concern, is very nice of you" the girl blushed, he was charming like a prince.

"Okay" Tobirama said "The training is simple, we run and climb the mount without using chakra, there we meditate for a while and then train chakra and taijutsu. After a while we climb down and finish running across the whole village's perimeter"

"That's awesome!" Takato said.

"We generally stop our training at 2pm, so Hikari-san can have some hours of rest." The albino said "Maybe today we can train for only two hours so you can get more rest, and then tomorrow we start at 8.30 the proper training. What do you think?"

"I will be fine, we can train longer" the Uchiha answered, he didn't want to be a nuisance.

"But if you go to work at 6pm you won't have time to rest for tomorrow then" Ichigo reasoned "You rest some hours today and then you have two hours tomorrow before training" Both adults were surprised by his statement.

"You're very bright kid" Tobirama said. Megumi giggled, and Takato sighed.

"Very well then, we'll train until 2pm." Takato accepted "What do we do now? Shall we only run through the perimeter?"

"We can do that in an hour" the Senju commented. That surprised Takato, the kids were learning fast.

"Wow, that's awesome!" he said "If it's okay with you we can run until we reach the Uchiha Forest and train taijutsu there for an hour, and then resume the running." He proposed. The albino nodded.

"Come on, let's go!" He started running and the other three followed him.

* * *

Two more days passed. Sakura stayed at the hospital everyday but she slept some hours in the morning shift and some hours at night. Madara, Ryuuji and Hashirama had formed a great team those days. The two shinobi had helped him and he could accomplish to mold healing chakra and repair a small tiny part of tissue. He fainted after he did that. But that was an incredible starter for him, because it meant he only have to improve his stamina and increase Chakra levels.

Tobirama and Takato had worked fine with the kids, Megumi unlike her brother, couldn't expel chakra. But she was indeed forging good chakra levels inside her. The albino had told the Uchiha that Hikari thought it was a matter of time that she could start molding chakra.

The night shift was getting better each day. Izuna trained really hard, and he started to go earlier to the shifts so he could learn more, and also to take care of Hikari. They had started to take turns to stay with her. Her chakra levels were fine but she wasn't waking, she might at any moment though, that's why they didn't want for her to wake up alone.

The third day, it was almost 6am the youngest Uchiha took over his Takato's turn and entered the Takishima's room. It had been a quiet night.

"She hasn't showed any different signs" Takato said while leaving looking at her. He seemed down.

"Aniki" Izuna grabbed his shoulder "Cheer Up! I'm sure she'll wake up soon. You know she is healthy. She will be fine soon and you will be able to talk to her anytime." His brother sighed.

"I really hope so" he smiled at his brother. "I feel so helpless. None of us could do anything."

"It was her jutsu; she was the only one that could teleport there" the youngest said "In a way she made a plan with Sakura, who realized what they were going to do. Maybe aniki can help her to train Susanoo so she doesn't burn that much chakra."

"That would be great" Takato said "We could use of some training too. We're rusty." Izuna laughed.

"You are rusty!" he pushed him out of the bedroom, "now leave"

"Okay, okay!" his brother said "I'll be around a bit more in case you need me." The youngest didn't answer; he waved his hands to make him leave.

Once he was alone, he sat in a chair next to Hikari's bed. He grabbed a book Sakura gave him and continued reading where he had left the day before. After a while the Takishima started to move on her bed, Izuna started to worry when she started to cry and mumble. He got up from his chair and called her name, but she didn't react. He cleaned her face, her temperature was fine. She might be having a bad dream or something. He was taken aback when she unexpectedly opened her eyes and incorporated on her bed.

"SHISUI!" she screamed.

****** AUTHOR'S NOTE******

**This took me more than I thought, hope you like it! More MadaSaku! I love writing them **** Thanks to Ania980 and **** Blu3b3rryt3a. **


	30. Relief

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

"Wake up you sleeping beauty!" a familiar voice called.

"Hn" Hikari grunted in discomfort, the sun rays were unbearable. She wiped her eyes with her hands and slowly opened them to see an also familiar face. She realized she was laying on the grass, she could fell the marvelous sent, so she sat up. She caressed the green herb and looked around her. "Konoha" she said and realized her voice sounded funny. Paying more attention to her surroundings and also herself, she immediately stood up as she realized she looked like a ten year old again.

"You seem surprised" the voice said "well, it surprised me too. I was waiting for you to be a 23 year old beauty instead of a child."

"I'm still 22" she said serious. Suddenly she felt her body had changed. It was her actual self, but she still was watching a 15 year old Shisui.

"That's better" the Uchiha smiled.

"W-what…" the Takishima tried to say.

"It was time for me to show up" he smirked sheepishly.

"I've been waiting to dream with you for almost ten years, you bastard!" Hikari scolded.

"Yeah, well…" he said looking to the side "It was not the time." He started to walk and she followed him. The scenery was very confusing, it was like a hologram, and depending how you saw it, it was old Konoha or future Konoha.

"I don't understand this" Hikari thought out loud.

"You really went far in history, you know" Shisui said cryptically and then added "We're actually on Limbo, so the time is not a constant"

"I DIED!?" she stopped on her tracks shouting. The teen cleared his ear with his pinky.

"Wow, your lungs are fine" he mocked "No, you didn't die, silly suicidal girl. You're just passed out, in a comma"

"Oh!" the brunette said lowering her face.

"Awesome Susanoo, by the way" Shisui grinned.

"How could you…" she asked surprised.

"I know everything" he said wisely. She deadpanned. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine" Hikari explained, "I'm not hurt at all"

"I mean how do YOU feel" The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. The girl's eyes widened.

"I-I…" she couldn't find the words "Trapped" he nodded in comprehension "I mean, I like being here. But I still feel we don't belong here. These are not our people" Shisui smiled sadly at that.

"You are the ones that make them '_your'_ people." He explained "Don't feel guilty, you won't be replacing us, you're just moving on" he added "If there was something else you could do, I'll get that you could feel bad, but there isn't. You can't go back."

"How do you know that?" she asked angry.

"Because you are meant to be here." He said serious. "You won't find complete happiness even if you could ever go back. Trust me" and then he added changing his demeanor in a way only he could do: "I told you I know everything" smiling again, he winked at her. She wasn't following but then a thought crossed her mind.

"I-Is Itachi-kun here?" Hikari asked. She needed to know. Shisui's expression fell a little.

"No he isn't" he said.

"Why?" she asked again.

"That I don't really know" The teen said.

"I thought you knew everything" she mocked of him.

"I know he was your first love" Shisui said straight forwardly. She looked at him with attention "And I know you never did anything because he liked Izumi, but in the end, he loved you back and both felt regret."

"That's…" the Takishima's eyes filled with tears that never fell. He knew that comment hurt her but she needed to hear that.

"Maybe it was better that it never really started. You both would have suffered a lot more." He sighed "His destiny might have been another one if some events wouldn't have happened." Silence came between them. It was dawning in the Village. She stopped on her tracks and considered what he had said carefully.

"I guess you are right" the girl finally said looking at the sky. She couldn't see the Uchiha's expression lightening up with her words. "I really loved him, but it was more like a platonic love. He was one of the most important people in my life, such as you. You both are a good memory for me" The light in the limbo became brighter.

"So… maybe… You have found real love already…" Shisui said mischievously "haven't you?" He could see her blushing as she immediately turning to face him. "Come on, I don't like to repeat myself"

"You're annoying!" she said all flustered.

"That first boyfriend of yours was like a mission" he said playfully "You completed it and gained a lot of knowledge and experience. Now it's ShowTime! You're a Special Jounin now" Her head felt on fire.

"I can't" she said dryly and rapidly the sky got cloudy. It called her attention, because it had started to rain.

"Funny weather here…" the Uchiha said approaching to her. "Hey! I know that if you cry in the rain, you think nobody sees your tears. But you can't scam me"

"I can't Shisui-kun…" Hikari said hiding her weeping with the raindrops' help. "I don't belong… They are not… He isn't…"

"Hikari-chan… You belong where you are. You belong to you" he started to wipe the tears of her face as the rain started to calm "They are your people, if you let them be." The clouds started to vanish from the sky "And He is what you want him to be. Don't feel guilty for something that didn't even happen. You said; Itachi was a platonic love. So why do you fear to encounter the real one?" For one last time her eyes widened at their maximum. The clouds disappeared and the sun started to shine.

Shisui had his hand still in her cheek, and even though she was still crying, the weather had recovered completely.

"I have to go princess…" he said smiling at her with love.

"Shisui, please…" she begged, as the light became brighter, she couldn't distinguish the city at all.

"I'm with you always" she wasn't seeing him anymore too because of the light, but she felt his hand wiping her tears…

"SHISUI!" she shouted.

* * *

Suddenly, Hikari realized she was sitting on a hospital bed. Next to her there was a dumfounded Izuna, with a handkerchief in his hand. It was wet, and she felt her face wet. '_Was I crying while sleeping?'_ she asked to herself.

"HIKARI-CHAN!" he exclaimed "Oh Kami you're fine!" he hugged her tightly and she felt a warm feeling in her heart.

"Shisui…" she whispered, and hugged him back with strength. She kept crying, but now she didn't know why.

Before long, hurried footsteps could be heard down the corridor. The door opened widely showing Sakura, Toka, and Takato. Madara, Hashirama and Tobirama were also outside but she couldn't see them, they had just arrived for their shift – actually the Albino had come to check on her.

"Hikari-chan, you're up!" Sakura exclaimed and run to her friend. Izuna tried to let her go, but she was still hugging him tightly. He couldn't understand what was happening to her, the hug seemed desperate. The Senju Kunoichi and Takato were worried. The girl didn't seem fine.

"Hikari-chan" the pinkette called her softly while touching one of her arms around the Uchiha. At her touch, the Takishima parted the hug but was still holding his arms and looked at her friend. She had black bags under her eyes, and her hair was messy. Her eyes went from her to Izuna and vice versa. Seeing the pinkette like that made her come back to her senses. Her demeanor changed completely with that, all the anguish she had showed was gone.

"You pulled another all-nighter, am I right?" Hikari said deadpanning at her as she released Izuna and wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"It was actually more like 72 hours-nighter…" Izuna said mischievously, he was calmer now he saw her talking like that, but he will talk to her later about her actions and also the name she had mentioned when she woke up.

"WHAT!?" the brunette exclaimed. The Uchiha and Toka were less worried too, she seemed herself now. They even sweat-dropped a little. "SAKURA HARUNO, HOW COULD YOU!?"

"Oh come on!" her friend said apologetically, putting her arms up in her defense. "Izuna-san is lying." She looked at him scornfully "It's true I've never left this hospital in 72 hours, but…" she added when she realized Hikari was about to explode again "I've been sleeping here, in the bed next to you." She pointed at the other bed that was neatly done, but she saw that the night table had some of Sakura's personal hygiene stuff. Her brush, a scented soap and a towel and some books with an un-litted candle.

"Oh…" Hikari said, realizing what was going on "I'm sorry then"

"Don't be!" Sakura said. "How do you feel?" the brunette looked at her, that question seemed familiar. She suddenly remembered all what had happened in Limbo, or maybe it was a dream?

"I-I…" she started "feel…" she was really scanning herself up. Her body was fine, but she found out that the void she felt in her chest since they had arrived was missing. She recalled her talk with Shisui and felt warm and comforted. "I am fine" she finally said smiling broadly.

Now it was the pinkette's turn to roll down a tear of relief. Izuna got up from the bed and motioned his brother and Toka to approach. While the Haruno checked her friend's vitals and stuff, everybody entered in the room.

"WOW too many people in here" the Youngest Uchiha said in a full professional mode. The Takishima looked at him and then to Takato, who was smiling at her warmly. She raised an eyebrow questioning Izuna's attitude and he rolled his eyes in response. She couldn't handle it more and burst into laughter.

"Okay, you are completely fine" Sakura said smiling hard too. "But I would like you to stay one day more, here in observation."

"Fine, I'll do it" she said calmed and smiling, her friend couldn't believe she had accepted so easily. The Takishima took a moment to watch everybody in her room. Hashirama, Tobirama and Madara were at the back of the group. The eldest Senju beaming just like Naruto and the other two, seemed a bit concerned but mainly relieved, everybody looked that way. Toka moved next to her and grabbed her hand. She looked at the action and then smiled at her. "Good Morn.. Err whatever the time is, to everybody" Hikari finally spoke to all of them. "Thank you for your concern and for taking care of me. Sorry for the bother" She closed her eyes smiling with all her heart. '_This is my people'_ she thought.

"OH HIKARI-SAN!" Hashirama exclaimed and bumping into his brother and Madara, and everybody who was in his way, he moved his cousin aside and grabbed her hand with both his hands. He was teary with joy "I am so happy that you are all right! If something happened to you I would have never… OUCH!" a dry noise was heard and he immediately released the kunoichi and grabbed the back of his head, where he had 3 bumps. Behind him there were Toka, Tobirama, and the Eldest Uchiha, with angry faces and their fist up.

"I'll give you a reason to cry" Madara said in a dark voice. The Kunoichi sweat dropped.

"You are impossible, Anija!" The albino said with a murderous look.

"How dare you to treat your family like that!" the Senju woman exclaimed outraged.

Hikari burst into laughter again, and this time Sakura and the other two Uchiha joined her. Someone suddenly knocked the door and made everybody look at it. Ryuuji was standing there with his chart in hand. He knew something had happened because everybody run towards the Takishima's room.

"Hello Hikari-san!" he said with joy, she waved back at him. "I'm so glad you have awoken! Please excuse me a minute" he added and then addressed to everyone else in the room "I didn't want to interrupt earlier, but there can only be two visitors in the room." He looked at his 'classmates' directly. "You both are supposed to be helping me, while Sakura-sensei checks on the patient. You can come and visit once our shift is over"

Hashirama reincorporated immediately red as a tomato and Madara was a bit embarrassed too.

"We'll go right away Ryuuji –sempai" The Senju said doing a military hand sign and started to walk towards the door. The Uchiha sweat dropped but followed him anyway. Once he reached the door he looked back and addressed the Takishima.

"We'll see you soon, Hikari-san. I'm glad you're okay" Madara gave her a one-sided smile.

"Thank you!" she said. He nodded at her, and before leaving the room looked at Sakura and nodded her too.

"It's still too crowded here…" Izuna said breaking the ice "We should go and get some breakfast" he said to Toka. "I'm starving"

"What time is it?" Hikari asked.

"It's almost 7 am" the Senju said "We were heading back from our shift and Izuna came to make you company and you woke. Now that we know you are fine, we can go get some rest and come visit you before our next shift starts"

"That would be nice!" she said from her bed.

"We'll see you in some hours!" The kunoichi waved at her friend and left with the Izuna to find something to eat, leaving the Takishima alone with Sakura, Tobirama and Takato.

"I'm going to make rounds again" the pinkette said "later I'll come back and make you some company as I rest a little." She added grabbing her shoulder and giving it a squeeze before leaving.

"We should go too…" the shinobi said almost in unison, and bowed.

"Wait, Tobirama-san!" Hikari called him. The Uchiha froze for a moment and the albino instinctively looked at him "How is Megumi?" she asked and both men breathed again, though they didn't know each other's reason.

"I've been training her these past days." He explained "I'm sorry I took the liberty of doing that"

"No, It's fine" she said "I'm grateful you did"

"She is very worried about you and comes here every day after practice. I will tell her that you are up, she might come before our training" Tobirama said "I assume she'll come with her grandfather"

"Thank you" Hikari said.

"Hn" he grunted and turned to leave but remembered something "Takato is training Ichigo. I asked for his help" the mentioned came back to reality, he had felt out of place while they talked.

"Really?" the Takishima said smiling to the Uchiha "How's that going?" she enquired. Before he could answer Tobirama excused himself.

"I shall go now," he said serious "I'll find Megumi, I'll see you later." He turned around at the door like Madara had done and look at her "welcome back" he greeted and left.

"He is really something…" she told Takato and he felt pretty awkward.

"I couldn't say…" he said a bit down. She didn't realize his reaction so she kept talking.

"He is a tsunedere, one day he treats you bad, and the other he is worried" the Uchiha didn't want to hear her praising him but he kept silence and listened anyway. "If I had more confidence with him I would punch him in the face. Could you pass me some water?"

"What!?" the shinobi asked surprised, he wasn't expecting that line from her.

"Water!" Hikari said joking "Also, you can sit down if you want to" she pointed the chair Izuna had been siting a while ago. He quickly filled a glass with water that was on the auxiliary table behind him, handled it to her and sat down. She drank it in a matter of seconds.

"Ahh… I was thirsty! Anyway, the actual answer to your question is that he sometimes gets on my nerves." She explained "he is very rude when he wants to, and sometimes even if he doesn't mean to. He ends up apologizing all the time, but man! He remembers me of the Hyuuga I used to train with. We ended up being good friends once he opened up a little, but in the beginning I always wanted to break his nose, boy he was obnoxious" The Uchiha snorted.

"He is indeed opening up" he said above his encountered feelings and she looked at him curious "He was worried about my siblings and I. Of course he came to visit you too, but the night the attack happened he actually said to Izuna that he was growing on him."

"You're kidding!" she exclaimed. "He actually said that?"

"Yes indeed" Takato answered "it seems he has changed since you talked about his student's responsibilities"

"Oh, that" Hikari remembered "Who knew, It's pretty noticeable he is a man of honor like all of you, but I've never thought he would open his eyes so quickly. He seems so stubborn; it must have been hard for him."

"I think so" he said, not really sure of how she felt about the Senju.

"Well! I think we'll end up being good friends then!" the Takishima grinned "Can you give me more water?" He felt relieved when he heard she thought about the Senju as a friend interest, but he found that he didn't want to know if she also considered him a friend. He decided to let that go as he poured more water to her.

"Thank you!" she said and drank a few sips "Now tell me what happened? How did it all end?"

The Uchiha filled in with the treat Hashirama and Madara had done with the Hyuuga leader, and some stuff his brother had told him about Majime and her status within the Clan. She was surprised how everything was handled by the two Clan leaders.

"They will be great leaders." She mentioned with emotion "Hashirama is going to be proposed as Hokage, right?"

"Yes" Takato said "He is very kind and open to people"

"I don't know." She said "I also think your brother, now that I know him better, would also be a great Hokage. It's a relief I don't have to marry him anyway" she laughed.

"Hey don't be mean!" the Uchiha said "You should give him a chance, he is a very good man!" he joked.

"Indeed" Hikari answered "But it'll be like marrying my cousin" they both laughed "I'm sorry what Majime said about your family. I'm sorry for being impolite, but I'm certainly not sorry of slapping him"

"Thank you for doing that" he said "Not only because it was time somebody gave him a lesson, but for defending our family. You don't know what it meant to us"

"I knew what it meant" she answered, and he looked at her curious. "You told me some stuff about your father and your mother in your letters, and given Madara-san's reaction it wasn't difficult to let myself go and slap him"

"You're right… I've told you some stuff" he said. "It seems we used to talk more when we wrote each other, we don't have time now" he lamented.

"Okay, tell me about you. We have plenty time" She said "I think that maybe you won't train today if Megumi comes by to say hi. And I'm positive Ichigo will sneak to accompany her."

"True" he laughed.

"How are you doing?" she asked in a cheery way, I was hard for Takato to see her like this after three days of waiting in worry. Now she did notice his demeanor change. He looked at her with eyes filled with emotion, like if he had been holding up something. She saw him take a big breath and when he sighed he seemed slightly better. "Takato-san?" she asked worried.

"Hn… I must say these days were tiresome. I was worried about you; we all were" he confessed "After all what happened, after what Majime said to you, after the way you saved the kids. You were not waking up. Your health was fine, but you wouldn't react. We kept you company, and talked to you but… It was frustrating"

"I-I…" She wanted to say something but he didn't let her finish.

"Now you're up talking to me about Tobirama's attitude, drinking water and joking as if nothing had happened. I can't…" His voice became hoarse; it surprised him to be this sensitive. She handled him the glass of water. He looked at her not understanding, did she wanted more? The glass was half full.

"Drink some, it'll make you feel better" she said and he grabbed the glass unconsciously and drank.

"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed after that "You were unconscious for three days and Here I am telling how bad we felt! What about you!? I'm a very bad person"

"Hey! Don't be so harsh on yourself!" She scolded him "It's natural! I used to talk like you every time Sakura or Naruto put their lives in danger and..." She stopped because realization hit her "Hn… Thank you for caring so much about me" she smiled shyly. She could see him widening his eyes and blushing. That only meant that she was right: he actually cared about her, she wasn't imagining things.

"Hn…" he was out of words, so he took another zip of water. They both became silent, but fortunately, it wasn't that uncomfortable. "So…" he wanted to return to the conversation, but he didn't know how.

"So…" she also said, "It's true your brother is obligated by the Clan to get married?"

"I thought you were not interested…" The Uchiha said rising an eyebrow and smirking.

"I'd like to keep my options opened" she joked.

"HN… no, please! I can't see you as a sister in law." He followed the joke, but then he continued so it wouldn't become awkward "I'm sorry to break your heart but he has to marry an Uchiha woman"

"I can't believe they don't acknowledge that inbreeding is wrong" she said "It's the reason that lots of clans have heritage problems. It's simply biology"

"They don't have that knowledge now." Takato explained "Maybe with your help and Sakura-san's you might change their minds. Not only of the Uchiha, but of the Senju too."

"That seems impossible to prove" Hikari said, "but we'll find a way, maybe if some other clan's join the Village in the future they can help. I know that the Only Clan that kept the inbreeding tradition was the Hyuuga, but they were starting to open. Oh wait!"

"What?" he asked intrigued.

"I knew an Uchiha that was a mixed blood!" her expression fell a little "Izumi…"

"How did the Clan handled that?" He asked, holding for a moment the urge to ask about that girl, she had never mentioned but she seemed sad to remember her.

"All I know is that her mother fell in love outside the Clan" She told him "And they refused to acknowledge that union, so she left the compound married the man she loved and had Izumi. Eventually the man died and she moved back to the compound because her daughter wanted to become a shinobi. She had awoken her Sharingan young by witnessing her father being murdered."

"I'm sorry it seems I only make you remember bad things" the man apologized.

"No, it's not that…"the kunoichi said "Although we share some similarities, we were never actually friends. She was supposed to be Itachi-kun's girlfriend"

"Your Itachi-kun had a girlfriend?" The Uchiha couldn't believe it "I know you didn't end up with him but I thought maybe…"

"Oh, no." the Takishima shook her head. "I told you, he was my first love but it wasn't reciprocated. Not in the beginning I mean."

"So he fell for you while having a girlfriend?" he asked confused.

"That's not right either." She smiled gently "Since it seems you have time, and I don't have anywhere to go I'll tell you more about my story."

"Let me get comfortable" he said smirking as he moved on his chair he was delighted they were talking like this. That made Hikari laugh.

"I liked Itachi, but he only saw me like a friend, a sister. And I was a kid" She started "Shisui-kun was always encouraging me to tell him my feelings but I wouldn't do so. Eventually they morphed into a deep loving bond, and all I wanted was for him to be happy. I heard the clan said he was interested in Izumi because they have seen them together eating in the compound sometimes. He never said anything, didn't admit it or deny it. When Shisui died, he and I became closer. I knew he was protecting Izumi because the people in the Clan thought he was the one that had killed our friend."

"Wait, why did the Clan say that?" Takato interrupted.

"They thought he had done it to obtain the Mangekyo" she explained "That silly Uchiha tradition that you acquire it by killing your best friend."

"That's not true!" the man said hurt "That's a bad story they tell about us. Me and my siblings awoke it because of our mother's death"

"I know, I believe you." Hikari tried to calm him down "It requires an extremely amount of deep emotion to awake it, but you don't need to kill somebody to obtain it. I know that by first hand"

"I'm sorry" he said a bit embarrassed. "Please go on" she made a small pause and nodded.

"After Shisui died, we used to hang out a bit more those days but he hardly spoke." she continued "He just stayed next to me in silence, or came to watch me training with shurinken. But he always seemed at ease. The last time I saw him was the evening before the Massacre. He had appeared while I was shopping groceries, and helped me carry them home… "She made another pause "I noticed something was odd when I greeted him with a 'See you later' and he just looked at me tenderly and said 'goodbye'. He never said good bye, not even to his little brother"

"And what happened next?" the shinobi was immersed in the story.

"I cooked for Naruto and I and as was washing the dishes when I felt a huge void in my stomach" she grabbed her sheet tightly "I left Naruto alone at home and run to the Uchiha district. When I arrived everybody was dead, even Izumi. It was one of the most horrendous scenes I've seen in my entire life. I could see not far from the gates that little Sasuke was still alive but unconscious, but suddenly some shinobi appeared and they didn't let me go further."

"I'm so sorry…" Takato lowered his head "I can't imagine how you might felt"

"You know this is the first time I tell this story to someone aside of Naruto and Sakura" she looked at him, she was not sad, well she was kind of down but it seemed she had worked that well in her mind over the years. "I mean not even my parents know this part, they only know what Itachi did, and why did he do it. I understood later why nobody interrogated me for being there. The Hokage knew."

"You never saw him again?" the Uchiha tried not to dwell too much on what she had said. She had trusted him something she had never told anybody.

"I actually did" Hikari said looking at the ceiling. She made another paused and eventually looked at him. She snorted when she saw his face, he had his eyebrows up and his eyes widely open like he was waiting for her to keep telling the story. "I'm sorry, I drifted off. When I was almost 20, before the war started he appeared in front of me while I was sparring with one of my toads summons."

"Really? After all those years he appeared as if nothing happen!?" he exclaimed.

"Yes, he came to apologize and to say goodbye. He was ill, and was going to confront his little brother so the boy would kill him." She sighed, this time Takato became speechless "He wanted one last spar with me, and we fought. It was a short but filled with emotion. I questioned him about Shisui's death, he explained to me what happened, and showed me everything through a Tsukuyomi. The orders he had received, how he killed everybody, how he was under covered in that organization. He actually was one of my godfather's leads." She stopped her story and for a moment she closed her eyes.

"Hikari-san?" Takato called "Do you feel fine?" he asked concerned.

"Hn. Yes, I'm sorry" she apologized "Too many memories together" she smiled at him "I got out of tracks, after he told me everything I confessed him that I always liked him. He said he knew, and that he liked me back. He had realized that before Shisui died, but at that moment I loved him as a brother. He also confessed to me that if nothing of what happened hadn't actually happened, he would have told me his feelings even If I didn't love him in a romantic way anymore."

"Oh." Takato said, she looked at him "That is so unfair! You both could have had so different lives."

"I am not sure about that" Hikari said "He had become a platonic love for me, a very important person, but I didn't pursue any romantic relationship."

"But you might have" he countered.

"I can't live my life thinking of 'mights'" the Takishima stated, it sounded harsher than she meant to "I mean, we both took different paths, and they were apart from each other. He will always have an important place in my heart, but that's all. Even when he was still alive, I had already moved on"

"I assume he died fighting with his brother, am I right?" That's all what the man could comment. All her personal details were not to be questioned. He felt comforted that she had someone so special in her memory, and also a bit relieved because he wouldn't have to be competing with that memory. _'Wait, what did I just think?' _he spoke to himself in his mind.

"Yes" she answered "He also saved his brother by fighting him. Sasuke had been invaded by a demon, and by leaving his body almost Chakra-less he made it release him. His brother didn't kill him actually, he died because he couldn't resist anymore." She made a pause "Sasuke told me so"

"Do you want more water or something to eat?" The Uchiha suddenly asked her. She looked at him oddly, because she was taken aback with his question after all that story. "I made you talk so long, and made remember so many sad things that I feel guilty. Let me bring you something please" he put clapped his hands in front of his forehead in a pleading pose. The kunoichi burst into laughter and he soon followed her. In that moment Madara appeared with a chart.

"Hikari-san how are you…" he stopped when he realized his brother was there and they were laughing together "Hn. I'm sorry I didn't want to disturb" he said the last part eyeing Takato.

"Hi! Madara-san!" she greeted him while she wiped a tear from her eye "You're not disturbing, your brother was telling me that he was going to bring me something to eat. I'm starving!"

"I think I should leave now, I kept you busy enough" he stood up "I'll leave her to your care aniki" The eldest looked at him rising an eyebrow.

"Hey, don't play fool with the meal" Hikari said "I'm really starving, it's not a joke"

"Okay, Okay" he put his arms up "I'll see what I can do. See you later!" he greeted and walked towards the door "You too aniki" he smiled at him.

Madara noticed his brother was feeling better, he seemed lighter. The Takishima girl really affected him.

"What did you do to him?" he asked her as he approached to her bed.

"Why?" the kunoichi answered with another question.

"This last days he was really gloomy, and now he spends an hour speaking with you and he is a completely different man" The Uchiha said as a matter of fact, he saw her getting what he implied and turning a funny shade of red. He decided he would not torture her anymore. "I wanted to thank you Hikari-san" he said. Hikari looked at him feeling more composed. "First for what you did helping save the children, and also for defending my mother's memory. I am also sorry of Majime-san's declarations; he only wanted to mess with the two of us."

"You don't need to thank me." She said to him "neither for the kids nor for how I acted. Your brother had told me how important your mother is for all of you, so I knew that man was stepping out of line."

"Takato told you about our mother?" Madara asked intrigued. His brother had never spoken about her with anybody that wasn't them, Kido or Sora.

"Yes, in some of his letters" she explained.

"Hn." The Uchiha said. That was indeed interesting. "Anyway, I also want to apologize to you because I didn't have on account how you might feel by coming to the Uchiha compound and receiving so much attention from a Clan that made you suffer so much" Hikari was startled with that.

"I-I…" she stuttered "It's Okay Madara-san, you don't need to apologize for that"

"But you were feeling unwell all night long." He continued.

"Yes, I guess I couldn't handle that well" she accepted "But believe me; I don't see in your people the ones that bullied me ten years ago. They are different people, and they don't have the darkness the ones in my time had."

"I appreciate what you are saying" the Uchiha sad "I really do."

"All right! All settled then" Hikari said cheering up "But there's something important we need to discuss…" she paused and he looked expectant "I'm sorry but I can't marry you, you're not my type!"

Madara's face was unique. Of all things he thought he might hear the Takishima say that wasn't one. He blinked a few times and the burst into laughter. It was a vibrant and joyful laugh. '_So this is the real Uchiha Madara. We really need to protect this laughter. Poor Madara of our time, I wonder if he remembered how to laugh like this"_ Hikari thought.

"Don't apologize, you're also not my type" he joked '_Of course, he prefers pinkettes'_ she thought '_But I won't tell him that, he might kill me'_ She also laughed because of what he had said and also because what she had thought.

"But I wouldn't be so reluctant to become an Uchiha If I were you, Hikari-san" he said crossing his arms and rising one eyebrow. The girl was clueless. "There are plenty of Uchiha candidates despite myself that you might find fitting your type. Well, actually there might be just one." He smirked broadly when he made her blush. '_Is he implying…?' _She thought. She was going to say something, but she also noticed another thing.

"You seem lighter" the Takishima said trying to compose herself. He knew what she meant; he didn't have the need to ask further.

"You too" Madara answered knowingly.

"I had a weird dream that took off a huge weight from me" She explained so he would also elaborate.

"I had a healing session of my eyes with Sakura-san." The Uchiha said "She also checked me for the Curse of Hatred."

"She did?" Hikari asked surprised. Had her friend spilled the beans with this man?

"Yes, I'm fine actually." He answered "It seems that anytime dark chakra appears my brain fights it, so I'm fine. She also checked on my siblings and they are completely free from it"

"Wow that's awesome!" the Takishima exclaimed. She was going to have a nice talk with her friend when she could and, speaking of the devil, the pinkette knocked the door and entered.

"Well, Madara-san? How's the patient?" Sakura asked in teacher mode.

"I haven't checked her yet," he said "I was apologizing"

"That was a long apology then." The pinkette said, the man was slightly embarrassed. "Don't worry" she assured "I will check on her, Ryuuji and Hashirama-san are expecting you. Your friend needs you to take over helping Ryuuji."

"Hn." He said rolling his eyes. "He can't do anything by himself. I wonder how he will be as a Hokage."

"We all wonder that" Sakura joked.

"True." Madara said "I'll go help him. See you later" He bowed to the ladies and left.

"How are you doing Hikari-chan? She asked her friend.

"I'm fine…" she said with suspense "but you need to explain a lot of stuff to me… You checked Madara's head for the dark curse!?" she exclaimed in a hush voice. Sakura gulped.

* * *

Meanwhile Toka and Izuna were eating something in the merchant district. I wouldn't be open until two weeks, but Ryuutaro san's son was still cooking for everyone that needed. They asked for some noodles and onigiri, a light bite before going to rest.

"I am starving!" Izuna said slurping some noodles, the Senju looked at him; he seemed more relaxed now the Takishima had awoken.

"You really care for Hikari-san" she said smiling "that's cute" The Uchiha almost chokes with a noodle.

"Where did that come from?" he said coughing and drinking some water "I'm not cute" Toka laughed.

"Oh, yes you are! But you don't know it yet" she said with a saccharine voice pinching him in the arm.

"Hey!" he tried to defend himself with his chopsticks. "Anyway, of course I care. She's my friend" he said serious.

"You don't have many friends, do you?" the kunoichi asked harmless and he tried to look offended "Come on, I know as a fact that you only hang around with your siblings or me if we don't count the girls"

"Well, yes" he said staring at his food "It was always difficult to have a friend in the clan. Father didn't want that, he only would allow it if we had intentions of achieving the Mangekyo Sharingan"

"By killing them, right?" Toka stated

"Yeah, but that's not true." Izuna argued "My siblings and I awoke it with our mother's passing, and you've heard Kido, he awoke it being old because he lost his son. Also Hikari-san lost her god-father." He paused "It's not that you need to kill your best friend, you need to deeply love and loose. It's an emotion thing of these cursed eyes"

"I don't see your eyes as a curse" she said and then blushed realizing how it might have sound. "I mean, it's a powerful dojutsu if you know how to use it."

For a moment, the Uchiha thought that she was complimenting him, but he felt disappointed as he realized that she was just talking about his family heritance.

"They are linked to emotions, they are unstable" he said bitterly taking a bite of one onigiri.

"But you have controlled them. You're very good at using the dojutsu" She didn't want him to get mad at her "I want to study the Sharingan" she said hopeful "I would like to help your people if they ever have problems, like you and your siblings had" He looked at her astonished.

"You want to learn to help my people?" Izuna asked "Why?"

"There has to be a reason?" Toka questioned "I never hated your clan, I'm fine with them. If you want to know a reason… you are one." Izuna felt his face grew hot.

"H-how?" he managed to ask. She was embarrassed too but she was not going to take her words back.

"You are the one that showed me how good your Clan could be" the kunoichi explained "I could see your kindness and pride even in battle before this peace happened. You cared for your people and especially for your family. That told me that you were not a bad person… Though you were pretty annoying at the beginning of our meetings" she smiled and chilled out a little.

"I-I…" he started and suddenly got the meaning of her last words "HEY!" he exclaimed "You were annoying too."

"I was just your mirror" Toka said wisely biting an onigiri.

"Hn." He said feigning being angry. They continued eating in silence. "You're not bad either" he suddenly said and now was her time to almost choke. "I mean, you're the most powerful kunoichi I've met. Hell you were the only kunoichi I've noticed in Battle. You're fierce and perceptive." She looked like a tomato now.

"I think Sakura-san and Hikari-san have overpassed me in your ranking" she said scratching the back of her head uncomfortable.

"No." he simply said and continued eating. She was speechless, so she also kept eating in silence. After a while the Uchiha spoke again "I like to have Hikari-chan and Sakura-can as friends. I'm glad I've met them, and I know I will learn some things from them; but you still have potential Toka. Never feel overpassed, always aim for be better, if that's what you want."

"Thank you" the Kunoichi said. She was used to him saying her name without the honorifics, he was always rude with her in that way, but this time it sounded different. "Nee… Izuna" she also felt different the way she called his name now "Would you help me improve?"

"I thought you've never ask!" he smirked. She smiled brightly and he found himself mesmerized with her beauty. It was hard for him to stay calm in that moment. He gulped hard and finished his plate.

Takato appeared later looking for some food. He had spoken with Sakura and she had told him it would be fine to get Hikari some onigiri. He looked at his brother eating together with the Senju and he had a warm feeling on his chest. He remembered one of the chats he had with his aniki two days ago.

_FLASHBACK_

"_You knew about Izuna's feelings for Toka?" Madara asked his brother._

"_Yes" he answered "I was suspicious, but he finally confessed that to me some days ago."_

"_You had a fight then" the eldest stated._

"_He told you about that?" Takato was surprised his otouto would have been so open to their aniki._

"_Yes, but he didn't told me why you fought" he said "Just that it was a middle-brother/youngest-brother thing"_

"_Well, that's true" his brother answered. "It was a fight that maybe we should've had earlier. But we're fine."_

"_I'm worried about you both" Madara said._

"_Look Aniki" the middle Uchiha said "you don't have to be. Our bond is stronger now. We needed that fight. We confronted our feelings since childhood. I treated him like he had never been serious in his life and told him he was childish and jealous. He told me I was a coward that didn't confront my feelings, and never wanted to get my things together and because of that I had let Suzumi die."_

"_How…?" The leader was angry "How could you say stuff like that to each other? You're family"_

"_We needed that." He cut his brother scolding "I'm sure you've realized both of us seem different these last days. We've bonded more than what we've bonded our entire life. This is also happening with you. The Uchiha siblings are getting stronger, not in power but in union." He made a pause; he could see the eldest was moved with his words. "As you said, we are family" he smiled at him._

"_I am going to fight for your happiness Takato." Madara said suddenly "Yours and Izuna's. I am not going to let him live a life where he has to hide his feelings. I won't let him get bitter, nor won't I let you too."_

"_I'm fine" Takato said._

"_No you're not." His brother responded serious "I know you're worried for Hikari-san, and I know about your feelings"_

"_That bastard…" the middle brother rolled his eyes "I'm gonna punch him when I see him"_

"_Why didn't you tell me?" the eldest enquired with hurt._

"_I don't know" his brother said "You mocked me, I wasn't really considering my feelings until some days ago that I started to feel jealous about her and Tobirama… I assume the Old lady also told you that didn't he?" Madara smirked._

"_You can't lose to him" he said to his sibling "You're better than that Senju."_

"_We're very similar actually" Takato said with Irony._

"_You're more charming" The Patriarch elbowed him, but then he talked serious "I know you're worried about Hikari-san, you can count on me. Talk to me. And don't worry I won't marry her." He smiled at that._

"_That's good to know" the youngest smiled at him._

"_What are we going to do with Izuna?" Madara asked._

"_I guess we could encourage that relationship if it's meant to be" Takato said "and help them hide it until you can solve this problem. I've seen them interacting and they are almost like a couple."_

"_Agh…" the leader exclaimed "Mother would have been a great help here"_

_END OF FLASHBACK_

"Hello you two!" Takato said smiling.

"Nii-san what are you doing here this late?" Izuna asked surprised. "Shouldn't you be resting for training?"

"I came to buy some Onigiri for Hikari-san." He answered "Sakura-san told me so"

"You're just leaving the Hospital?" Toka wandered, it had been almost an hour since they left.

"Well, yes" he said "I spent some time talking with Hikari-san"

"Oh, you don't lose your time, do you?" The Senju elbowed him "How is she doing?"

"Fine" the middle Uchiha said passing on her joke but looked at his brother with a pointy look. The other Uchiha looked dumbfounded, he got what his brother implied with that look and he had certainly not told Toka about him and the Takishima. "She seems lighter, like she doesn't have that anguish aura surrounding her. Remember? She started to be like that since the day we have the meeting at the Hokage tower." The other two understood what he was talking about.

"But she was pretty anguished when we arrived" the kunoichi mentioned "She wouldn't let you go" she looked at Izuna.

"That's true" he said in deep thought remembering something.

"What happened, how did she woke up?" Takato asked.

"It was weird" Izuna explained. "She was tossing and turning on her bed and started to mumble and cry in her sleep. I wiped her tears and called her name but she wouldn't answer. Then she suddenly sat up shouting her friend's name"

"Itachi-kun?" Takato and Toka asked in unison.

"No" the other Uchiha said serious. "Shisui"

* * *

The rest of the day went by rapidly. Megumi, Ichigo and Ryuutaro had visited Hikari at the Hospital joined by Tobirama that had told them the news. They were interrupted by Takato that brought the kunoichi some food. He excused himself, handled her meal and waited outside. He didn't want to intrude. The Takishima told Tobirama that they should take the day off. She would be out from the Hospital the day after and they would resume training. The albino wasn't very sure about this, but thought that some rest wouldn't hurt the children for once. That allowed them to hang out a little more with their 'sensei'. Ryuutaro and the Senju left the Takishima talking with the kids that were over Sakura's bed.

As he got out the Room the albino told Takato that he could go to get some rest, because there won't be training.

"I will go to the Hokage tower and settle some things up" he said "The decision of Hokage will be taken in a month, so our siblings need to tell the people these days."

"That's good!" the Uchiha said "I was going to say they have been lazy with that"

"Indeed." Tobirama smirked "Anyway, once you've rest would you come by? I would like to talk to you about the Academy Idea"

"Really?" Takato didn't know why but he felt proud that he was considering him, the Senju nodded "I look forward to, I'll be there by two. Now I'll go get some rest"

* * *

The next day Hikari was ready to be discharged, it was 8am. And she was dressed up waiting for Sakura to tell her to leave. She needed to go to their home so Hamura would get out and become Matsu again. The pinkette arrived with her discharge papers and told her to take it easy.

"I'll go home and then I'll stop by the guy's training." The Takishima said "But I won't do anything too demanding don't worry"

"Just to climb the mount" Sakura said rising an eyebrow.

"Only that!" her friend smiled sheepishly "I'll do it from the easy part, just walking"

"Okay" the Pinkette said. "I've talked to your shift-mates" she smiled at that "You'll reduce your night hours a bit for these days. You'll enter at 8pm so you can rest a little more."

"But you…" Hikari complained.

"Don't worry, they will call us if there's an emergency" she said. "I'll do my regular shift until 6. I'll see you at home. Now leave" he waved her hands and motioned her to go. Now that Hikari was completely fine, Sakura could feel at ease again.

* * *

That evening the announcement that the Hokage will be named in a month was made. Tobirama, Madara and Hashirama went to each compound and also spoke in the Civilian district. People were eager to finally have a leader.

Ryuuji wanted to stay those two hours Hikari was resting so Sakura allowed him and she went back home to relax with her friend, it had been a long time since they could chat casually, without the fear of spilling the beans.

At their home Matsu was waiting her with a meal, and her friend was sleeping sonorously on the couch. She suddenly awoke when the pinkette closed the door.

"Oh! You're really here" she greeted "You should eat what Matsu prepared, it's delicious. I ate so much, I passed out." he had made some sort of chicken potato pie.

"This looks so good!" Sakura smelled it. She left her belongings, washed her hands and sat at the table to eat. Hikari took this opportunity to interrogate her so she stood up from the couch and walked to the kitchen.

"What did you tell Madara about the curse?" she went straight to the point. Her friend was taken aback with that.

"O-only the basics" she shrugged innocently. Her friend looked at her with an accusing look "Okay, I'll tell you everything" she added and told her about the chat they all had that night after she fell unconscious and how the Uchiha Siblings wanted her to check if they had the Curse. Eventually she told her about her conversation with Madara. She tried to skip some stuff but both Matsu and the Takishima noticed.

"So you told him that he was developing darkness!?" Hikari exclaimed "Are you Insane!?"

"If you really paid attention, I didn't tell him that." Sakura raised her voice. "I just told him there was evidence that he had had darkness, but now it was gone."

"But you told him you'll give him tools to cope with that." The brunette was walking back and forth inside their kitchen "You even told him about Sasuke! You're meddling too much!"

"Of course I Am!" the pinkette shouted "I am sick of being cautious with the whole future thing. If we're here to stop bad things to happen then this is one thing I definitely want to do." Then she looked at Matsu "You brought us here! You're not giving us much other options"

"Hey! Don't get mad at him now" the Takishima defended the Ōtsutsuki for the moment "You're the one that make your own decisions"

"I'm sorry ladies" Matsu said "I'm sorry for what I've done to you, but the truth is that there are no rules about what to do in a situation like this. But it is possible that you can change small things, and that will make things develop at their own pace. While you don't do things for your own egotistic interests we all be fine."

"So you're giving us free card to play?" Sakura asked the man.

"Yes" the Ōtsutsuki answered "I never put rules anyway. Follow your gut" The anger was slowly fading inside the brunette. At least the anger she felt towards the pinkette.

"I'm sorry I blamed you" she said to her friend "It's difficult to act sometimes around here. And _YOU_…" she said looking at Matsu "are unbearable." The man made a guilty face.

"I'm sorry!" the Ōtsutsuki said "I wouldn't have done this if I wasn't sure this was going to be for the best"

"It's fine Matsu" the pinkette told her. "Also Hikari-chan, it's okay. I'm happy to know that we don't need to be counting every step we made."

"HN." Hikari said eyerroling at her brother, and then shook her head. "You know? That's right!" she smiled.

* * *

Days went by smoothly for everybody. Uchiha and Senju worked together. Some of them have started to form friendships outside the clan because of their kids. Tobirama and Takato were working in the Idea of the Ninja Academy, it was just the basics, and once they have something more elaborated they would consult Sakura and Hikari.

Hashirama and Madara were occupied meeting with everybody and explaining to them that there will be only one Hokage and that they thought the best option for a leader was the Senju. Hashirama assured everybody that he would have a council and he would have the Uchiha as an advisor, almost like a second Hokage, or a Hokage in the shadows. Most of the people were fine with that, but Madara had to put a lot of effort when he spoke to his Clan. It went better than he had expected though; the majority had a high concept of the Senju, they had seen him leading the negotiations with the Hyuuga, and also he seemed approachable. The idea of having their leader as the Villages right hand was also appealing. The Patriarch finished convincing them when he said them that Izuna was now an apprentice of Sakura and he was aiming to be a great medic as she was. It was a matter of pride, and it had done the trick. The old hag band of the council of course opposed everything they have said, but actually they didn't care because for Hashirama to be accepted as Hokage they needed Majority, and it seemed they already had it.

Almost two weeks later, Hikari had just arrived to the night shift. She was now doing regular time schedules. That day the albino hadn't showed up for training, he said he had some stuff he needed to finish at the Hokage tower. Ichigo had taken the day to spar with Takato at the Uchiha forrest, so it had been just Megumi and her.

At the hospital's doors she encountered Toka and the Uchiha Siblings and they entered the building and met with the day shift. They were just finishing the information exchange when Tobirama appeared through the front doors. He greeted everybody and then approached to Takishima.

"Hikari-san" he said in a low baritone voice "I would like to spar with you tomorrow." He asked leaving the kunoichi and the rest of the group dumbfounded.

*****AUTHORS NOTES******

**Hello Everybody! This was more a Hikari centered chapter, but come on… she was away for two whole days!**

**I keep receiving messages about people that don't like OCs (not mine, in general) or think OCs are OP (that was about mine, but it was about the 1rst chapter, so what would they know?). The ones that have read my whole story until now know that even though My OCs might seem OP, they are really not. I work hard to give them weaknesses and flaws so they can grow over them. Okay, Hikari did Susanoo and Hirashin last chapter, but it almost costs her life. They have not altered the canon story much, and they have not surpassed the actual Founders. Actually, we will see more about that next chapter :V**

**I can't understand something though; if they don't like OCs and in the descriptions says OC, why do they read and comment?**

**Anyway, thanks to Ania980 and Blu3b3rryta as always **


	31. About sparring and health

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

"Spar?" the Takishima asked surprised.

"Yes" he just answered. The kunoichi looked at Sakura. The pinkette was frowning, so she had also found it an odd petition.

"Hn." Hikari thought "I guess it might be okay… but what about the kids? We have training tomorrow"

"They could watch to gain experience" Tobirama said in his normal plain face.

"Okay then" she said "where are we going to spar?"

"If it's not a problem for the Madara and his clan" he said looking at the mentioned "I would like to use the Uchiha forest. It's a good place and far from the main district"

"You can use it Tobirama" the Eldest Uchiha said "It's not a problem for me"

"Thank you" he answered. "I see you tomorrow at 10 there" the Senju said the last thing looking at Hikari. He was turning to leave and the girl intercepted him.

"Tobirama-san" she called him, the albino turned again curious "I was wondering… why you want to spar with me so sudden?" He looked at her serious and then looked at the group behind her that was paying attention to all they were talking.

"I'm interested in testing your abilities with Hirashin and in general" he grunted "During the trainings I never see you fight in reality and the two times I could watch you they were a rather small display, not in strength though, I mean in time."

"Oh" the Takishima considered "I see you at 10 then. I'll tell Megumi and Ichigo…"

"I'll tell them now" Tobirama interrupted "they are on my way to the Hokage tower."

"Okay, thank you" Hikari nodded. He greeted everybody and left.

"What was that?" Izuna asked Hashirama.

"Mmm…" the Senju was in deep thought, '_could it be that… No I can't just assume things' _he thought and hurriedly added "I don't know. Maybe he just wants to test the difference between your shunshin technique and his. That sounds really like Tobi, to find out strengths and weaknesses of his techniques."

"But why now?" the youngest Uchiha questioned. Hikari stood next to them, also in wonder. Madara could see that Takato had a suspicious look on his face.

"I-I don't know!" Hashirama defended himself a bit nervous "You ask me stuff like if I really know what's in his head. Mostly of the time I can't figure out what's he thinking of"

"Maybe he waited to be sure Hikari-san was in perfect health" Takato intervened, he put all his effort not to be jealous, but to think clearly "It wouldn't be honorable to fight you if you weren't at your best" he said the last part looking at the brunette. Now that she was better, she had started training with them ten days ago, so he was relieved from that duty, but he kept training with Ichigo some days.

"He's gonna kick my butt" the Takishima said "I'm pretty rusty"

"He's rusty too" Hashirama smiled more calmed "He hasn't been training properly for days." Even though he said that, he felt that wasn't enough for the Kunoichi. "Well, It's kind of late…" he started to change subject as an excuse "We need to leave; we have a meeting with Ryuutaro san at the Hokage tower."

"That's right" Madara said he didn't want to stay any longer, though he was worried about his brother. He looked at him and he shook his head slightly, just for him –and Izuna- to see. "Okay, We will see you tomorrow" he greeted everybody and took the Senju from his sleeve. Sakura and Ryuuji also greeted everybody and left to train. The pinkette looked at her friend with a sympathetic look and told her she'll come by later to have dinner with her and that seemed to calm her a bit. Sparring with the second Hokage? '_That is mental_' Sakura thought.

* * *

"So…" the Takishima said feeling awkward "That was odd, right?"

"Don't worry!" Toka said smiling "He's just researching; I don't think he has any hidden intention behind all of this"

"Are you sure?" the kunoichi still felt uncomfortable.

"Hey, you've used his technique in a way he hasn't achieved yet." Takato said reassuringly grabbing her shoulder "It wouldn't be Tobirama if he wasn't odd, but that's how he is"

"Always aiming to improve" the Senju said "bordering the annoyance…" she sweat dropped.

"Okay, you've convinced me" Hikari said, and then looked at Izuna "You're strangely quiet, what are you thinking of?" she teased. The Uchiha got off his daydreaming and looked at her.

"Nothing" he said smiling "I was just thinking how annoying Tobirama could be" he lied.

"Hn. Okay" she said eyeing him. "Very well let's start our shift, shall we?"

* * *

After training Sakura appeared with a complete healthy meal for her friend, and took her away from her classmates. She excused herself saying they needed to talk about some memories of their Village, and fortunately they got the hint. The trio ate alone in the classroom.

"What might they need to talk about the future now?" Izuna asked munching a rice ball.

"Maybe some battle tactics?" Takato said.

"How could they know how to fight him?" his brother debated "they had hardly seen him fighting."

"She said they studied the founders in their academy." The middle Uchiha said "Maybe Sakura-san wants to discuss something like that"

"Hn…" the youngest mumbled deep in thought. Meanwhile, Toka finished her meal.

"Guys!" she said in a hush.

"What?" the siblings asked in unison.

"I think we've got a problem here." The Senju said.

"Why is that?" Izuna raised an eyebrow.

"Because Tobirama is never interested in spar with nobody, unless he finds them utterly appealing"

"WHAT!?" both Uchiha exclaimed.

"I didn't mean it in that way, morons!" Toka hushed them, "So noisy…" she sighed "I mean he is not interesting in measuring his Hirashin like he said. He's interested in Hikari-chan per sé. Why, I don't know. Maybe it's her seal."

"So you say he's not interested in her in any other way rather than that?" Izuna asked. He felt a bit of relief.

"I think so" She said quietly.

"You're both overreacting" Takato intervened "I don't feel him as suspicious as he was a month ago. Maybe he just wants to spar and that's all."

"But why it felt like he was inviting her on a date?" the youngest blurted. Toka almost choked, and started to cough hard. Izuna passed her some of his water, but they have run out of it.

"I'll find her some more" the middle Uchiha said bored "Don't let her die, would you?" he joked. When he left, the kunoichi suddenly stopped coughing.

"You were acting!" Izuna hissed.

"No, I actually chocked" she explained "but the last coughs were fake, you're right" she added grinning.

"You wanted him to leave?" he was sharp.

"We're in trouble." Toka said anxious "I really think Tobi is interested in Hikari-chan in a romantic 'Tobirama-way' that might be very confusing for everybody"

"Hey, slow down!" he tried to calm her. "But you just said… Why do you think that?"

"Because…" she got closer to Izuna and whispered "Remember I told you I had a crush on him when I was little?"

"Yes" the Uchiha also got close and whispered.

"At that time, Tobi had a crush on another Senju Kunoichi. Maki-chan." Toka said.

"So?" Izuna asked. He was ignoring the nervousness he felt by having her so close to his face.

"He always sparred with her." The Senju said and looking around as if somebody was listening she added "I mean _ALWAYS_. She was the only one whom he sparred with. Not even with Hashirama. Eventually they had a teen love, I believe they were fifteen or so, and she tragically died in a battle with the Hagoromo Clan." Izuna's eyes widened.

"Oh!" that was all he could mumble.

"Since then he hasn't asked nobody to spar. And he has become colder" Toka continued "The only times he spars it's because me or Hashi drag him."

"So you say he has feelings for her?" the Uchiha asked quickly, he sensed his brother down the corridor.

"I don't think so, not yet" she hurriedly whispered "But she might remind him of Maki."

"Damn it!" Izuna sighed.

"Yeah, I know" Toka said "You know I will always root for your brother, don't you? But If Tobi gets more interested in her that might complicate things."

"Thank you for trusting me this" The Uchiha said looking straightly at her, their faces were inches away. She blushed deeply and so did he. The sudden noise on the door made them act quickly: Toka resumed her coughing and Izuna punched in her back while using a napkin as a fan.

"Hitting her on the back will not help her, you know?" Takato said looking at his otouto, and he immediately changed his face when he realized the odd coloring he had on his cheeks. "Did I interrupt something?" he smirked.

"Wha- What?" Izuna said in a voice a bit higher than he meant to. "You…"

"I'm sorry, I was joking!" he interrupted. He didn't want to pick a fight with his brother.

"Guys, I'm dying here" Toka said in between coughs "Would you mind… water?"

"Oh, here!" Takato hurried to handle her the canteen "Apologies" The woman drank almost all the liquid, that fake cough left her with a sore throat.

"Ahh!" she exclaimed. "Thank you"

"Your welcome" the eldest said "I'm sorry it took me so long, but a nurse stopped me to ask me something about a chart"

"Don't worry" she smiled "I could make it"

"Okay, try not to choke again" he falsely scolded her.

The trio resumed their eating and chatting about medic jutsu because soon Izuna was going to be moved to day shift to start his training with Sakura. But Toka's words stayed on the youngest Uchiha's mind.

* * *

At the same moment, the pinkette and her friend were eating at the roof; it almost felt like a regular time in their Konoha, when Hikari and Naruto used to surprise her with ramen-to-go so she would eat something during her watches.

"So, how do you feel about this sparring thing?" Sakura asked her.

"I don't know" Hikari said. "I think it's a mixture of curiosity, fear and pride"

"Nice mixture!" the pinkette joked as she grabbed a bite of her tempura chicken.

"Yeah" she said "I guess I'm proud Nidaime wants to spar with me. He was my second favorite Hokage aside from my Uncle"

"I know!" Sakura exclaimed "He seemed such a jerk at the beginning, but now he is extremely different"

"You think so?" the Takishima enquired.

"Maybe you don't notice it because you see him everyday" the pinkette said "but he is gentler and more open"

"He doesn't seem so suspicious anymore" Hikari agreed looking at the sky. "But this felt also weird"

"Weird?" her friend asked "How so?"

"I mean, he came all the way here to invite me to spar" the brunette said and resumed eating her dumpling. "So formal"

"It was like a date!" Sakura joked and they burst into laughter.

"Can you imagine that?" Hikari laughed hard "If that's Nidaime's way to ask someone out, how would he propose?"

"I bet he might give the lucky one a katana or a tagged kunai" the pinkette followed the joke.

"Anyway, I'll do my best" she drank a bit of water and continued "at least he is not as strong as he was when he became Hokage. Maybe I have a chance." Sakura raised her eyebrows, and her friend laugh again "Who am I kidding? He will destroy me"

"Well, I can't fix you if he gets to that" the Haruno followed the joke "Try to stay alive at least in two halfs."

"Shut up!" Hikari said as she threw her a chopstick.

* * *

Sakura left the Hospital to get some rest, as Hikari entered the room where the trio was eating.

"Sakura says 'Bye'" the kunoichi said "she left jumping from the roof so nobody would intercept her and so she could rest more time"

"She seems to have learnt to rest after these two weeks" Takato answered her amused.

"You're completely right, you know?" the Takishima smirked "It took her a long damned time!" she noticed he looked at her curious "You have known her for a month and a half; I've known her for years."

"True" the Uchiha raised a glass of water "Cheers for that" the girl laughed.

"So what were you up to?" she walked next to the other two and sat down next to Izuna.

"We were wondering how my future training might be." He said "Sakura-chan seems too harsh"

"She is a wonderful teacher" Hikari said "A very passionate one, if the apprentice is eager to learn, like Ryuuji."

"How is Ryuuji-san doing?" Toka asked gently.

"He's done a lot of progress!" the other kunoichi said "It's incredible how this boy grew up in almost two months. Your brother and Hashirama-san are helping him with chakra, but he has learnt a lot as a civilian doctor. I'm sure Sakura will bring him to the first surgery she might have."

"I'm glad to hear that" Takato intervened. "Anija has spoken highly about him. I think it runs on the family. Megumi chan has a lot of potential too" he remembered the days he helped the kids train.

"Sure she has!" she answered "That girl is about to expel chakra in any time, I'm positive"

"Do you think Sakura-chan might let me watch a surgery too?" Izuna asked hopeful.

"I think so" Hikari said "She needs to see if you have the stomach to see guts and stuff. It's not the same than being in a battle, you know?"

"I think I can handle it" the Uchiha smirked and the Takishima nodded also smiling.

"Well, you three seem to have learnt all I could teach you in this area" the girl said "Toka-san, Takato-san, if you are interested in deepening your knowledge I might recommend you some books to read, and to take extra classes with Sakura"

"That would be awesome!" Toka exclaimed "I am interested to keep studying, what else can we learn?"

"You can learn about specific medic areas, like poisons and antidotes, medicines, mind health…" Hikari listed.

"Mind health?" Takato asked.

"Well, yes" the Takishima answered him "Back in our time Sakura developed a practice to help people with mental problems, not only disabilities but post traumatic syndromes, especially with kids"

"What is post traumatic syndrome?" the middle Uchiha interrupted her.

"It's a syndrome some people develop after experiencing a traumatic experience" she explained "It's mostly related to something violent , like war, loses, or other mean acts committed over the patient or witnessed by them" She made a pause "People that have experienced war tend to have episodes like being insomniac, having violent nightmares, feel anguish or anxiety."

"That sounds dreadful" The Senju expressed.

"It is." The other kunoichi stated "Some times that pain is not seen in plain sight. But the best treatment is something called therapy, where the patient talks with a medic or someone capable of hearing and understand the situations. Talking is the best way to understand things, and when you do you start healing your mind."

"And Sakura-chan did this with children after your war?" Izuna asked.

"Yes" Hikari smiled "She was inspired by our childhood stories, mainly Kakashi Sensei, Sasuke, Naruto, and me."

"It seems tragic infancies never changed, not even in the future" he said sounding defeated.

"I think they might be reducing to a few" the kunoichi said "but you can't eradicate that. Tragedies still happen in a Shinobi Village"

"I would like to study that" Takato suddenly said "I think there's a lot of people here that has experienced those types of situations and are suffering in silence"

"You would do an excellent job there Aniki" Izuna smiled and punched him softly on his left shoulder "You're sympathetic to people and a good listener. Also you are a good observer and give great advice"

"Stop it, you're embarrassing me" he said flustered looking to the side not amused "It seems you're selling some merchandise"

"I'm so not!" the youngest whined "I'm telling the truth!" The girls sweat dropped.

"Are there any other types of areas of medicine to learn?" Toka asked her friend while the boys kept discussing.

"Yes, Civilian medicine and Shinobi medicine are mixed in those I've just mentioned" Hikari told her "But there is also strictly shinobi medicine, like the study of chakra paths, dojutsu, using fuinjutsu for healing purposes, and stuff like that. Also medic Nin can operate in a more efficient way, and do poison extractions"

"That sounds awesome!" the Senju said "But I think it would be weird that the three of us what to be medic Nin"

"It's not like you have to be a medic Nin to do that" the Takishima said "I mean, Izuna-san wants to be a Medic nin, but if Takato-san wants to be some sort of therapist, he doesn't need to be a medic for doing that. If you want to study chakra paths, fuinjutsu, or even poisons and antidotes you also don't need to be a medic per se. It's more a science thing."

"Oh, that's good to know!" The other kunoichi said with relief "I was worried because I wanted to learn how to heal like this, but I am actually not interested to deepen those skills like Izuna. I'm interest in investigate how things works."

"With the basics of medic ninjutsu and civilian medicine you've learn with me" Hikari said "and also with some other knowledge Sakura will give you, you might become a great scientist. Also you Takato-san" she said looking at the middle Uchiha "If you're not interested in becoming a medic like your brother, you can learn only about mind health. I did that, though I could work only a few months because I had a long term mission assigned, but I can give you some tips if you want to so you can know what to ask Sakura."

"But you've learnt medic ninjutsu" he complained.

"Yes, but this are a bit more than the basics" she explained. "I shared some time with Sakura's Shishou when I was little and she taught me some cool stuff that would help me control my chakra and also would save my life on battle. The rest I've learnt it helping at the hospital after war."

"That sounds awesome" Toka said "Of course knowing this makes us able to help in a battle or if the Village is in need. I think we can all agree on that, right?" she asked the boys who nodded enthusiastically. "And we will help here until Sakura-san has the quantity of Medic Ninjas she desires"

"If I'm not wrong, more Uchiha and Senju are going to start training since tomorrow" Takato said "Aniki told us so"

"Sakura mentioned something" Hikari answered "It's great news!"

"HN." Izuna interrupted them "I think we're past our eating time, we should start with our rounds again." The Takishima looked at him impressed.

"Wow, you seem to be a complete pro by now" she joked and he smirked and raised an eyebrow "Come on, let's keep moving!" she said to everybody while motioning to the door.

* * *

"So, would you tell me what is going on here?" Madara asked Hashirama after they left the Hokage tower. They hadn't spoken about the whole sparring affair yet "What is going on with Tobirama?"

"Nothing!" the Senju answered nervous. "He just wants to spar"

"It's not only that…" The Uchiha said crossing his arms and examining his friend while raising his eyebrows "You were nervous when we left, so that means something else"

"You are imagining things" he said wanting to dismiss him.

"I am not." Madara cut him "You're too transparent, dense yet transparent and I know you. Tell me the meaning behind all this" Hashirama made a pause, looked at the sky and sighed. He shook his head and finally answered him.

"Tobi had a girlfriend when he was fifteen" he said "Maki-chan, a fine kunoichi. He never confessed that to us, but it was obvious."

"I'm surprised to hear that" the Uchiha said "Never thought of him of the couple type"

"He wasn't always like this" the Senju complained "You met him only in battle, but he was more open and caring. He still is caring, but he closed off his feelings and became colder and more serious when she died" Madara's eyes widened. It was natural that those kind of things happened. It had happened to him to, though it had been just crush and not a real interest. But at that time his father was still alive and was pretty coldblooded and that made him think about something else.

"That girl…" his friend gasped "did we…?"

"No, it was the Hagoromo clan" Hashirama interrupted "anyway, he used to spar with her. Only with her. After that, he stopped training with other people. Even he turned us down any time we invited him."

"So you think that inviting Hikari-san to spar that means…" Madara asked

"That he might be interested in her like he was with Maki-chan" The Senju completed the sentence.

"That's a problem" The Uchiha thought out loud.

"Indeed… wait" his friend looked at him not understanding "Why do you think it is a problem?"

"Why do you?" Madara retorted.

"Because I don't think Hikari-san is interested in Tobi… and that might break his heart" Hashirama said "Though I am not sure he has acknowledged yet if he has feelings for her"

"Oh, that's true" the other shinobi said "That might cause a problem with the girls"

"You still haven't answered me…" His friend said. Now he was the one crossing his arms and eyeing the Uchiha funny.

"I think there's something going on between Takato and Hikari-san" he said bluntly. He was sure about his brother's feelings but he wasn't sure yet about the Takishima.

"Really?" the Senju asked impressed. "I've never thought of that"

"Do you live under a rock!?" The Uchiha exclaimed very frustrated by his childhood friend simply mind.

"Hey!" he defended himself "I don't know. I haven't seen them interacting much I guess…"

"You're impossible" Madara said frustrated.

"Why!?" Hashirama asked outraged

"Because you don't detect your surroundings" he said "That is why Hyuuga attacked us"

"What does that have to do with anything?" the Senju asked "you're just being oversensitive because you want Hikari-san as your sister in law!"

"WHAT?" the Uchiha asked

"I will defend my brother if they love each other" he said solemnly.

"You are the one that wants her as your sister in law" Madara said rolling his eyes.

"I do of course" Hashirama smirked deviously "I would also have Sakura-san in my family, but she seems to be taken" he said deviously, enjoying how red color crawled over Madara's face.

"She's not…" he tried to say "Oh, shut up!" he complained.

"Don't worry, It's a winning for all of us" Hashirama explained "You're like a brother to me, so in the end she will be…"

"Don't you ever say that out loud again. You might get me in trouble" Madara hushed him. "Remember the Council wants me to marry soon, and if somebody hears your words and took them as a possible rumor, you might get Sakura-san in trouble too"

"Oh, I forgot I'm sorry" the Senju apologized; His friend had told him about the tiny little obligation of getting married with an Uchiha woman before turning 25. "How is that going on?"

"Still the same" he sighed

"Cheer up!" the other shinobi hit him on his shoulder playfully, Madara looked at him not amused "There's still a lot of time until December comes, maybe a miracle can happen"

"Yeah…" Madara answered absentmindly as they resumed walking. Perhaps that miracle had pink hair.

* * *

The morning came too soon and Hikari left the Hospital quickly to get some rest. She bid her goodbyes to the night team (and hellos to the morning team) and went home. At 10 sharp she was standing near the lake at the Uchiha forest. Tobirama was waiting for her and they exchanged nods as a greeting, and she was surprised to see that they already had audience. Toka, Izuna and Takato were sitting next to Ichigo and Megumi. Kido and Sora were there too and so was Madara.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the Hospital?" The Takishima asked at the latter with an accusing look.

"I asked for permission to Sakura-san" he smirked "Hashirama is coming here soon, but he hasn't finished homework yet" his grin widened. The girl sighed and laughed.

"Well, this is a bit awkward" she answered waving her hand and greeting al the present. She walked to the Senju "So, how would you like to do this?" she asked. She needed to know the rules he had in mind.

"Do you have a favorite weapon?" the albino asked simply.

"Hn." She thought "just kunai for know"

"I thought you'd be more adept to kenjutsu" he said in a weird way, like he was mocking her. '_Is this trash talk for Nidaime!?'_ the voice in her head asked.

"I do, but I am positive my abilities with sword won't match with yours" Hikari theorized "So it might be a burden." She tried to sound confident but it was hard, she was utterly nervous.

"Okay" he said "Kunai for you, Katana for me. Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, you can use all your tricks on your arsenal. I plan to spar seriously" he added solemn. The girl swallowed hard.

They took their positions and moved their limbs a little bit to elongate. Tobirama put on guard and she mimicked him. And that's when hell started.

****** AUTHOR'S NOTE ******

**Hi there! Short chapter because I wanted to upload something for you! I'm still working on the Battle so I didn't want to postpone it more. You're starting to know a bit more about Tobirama's story.**

**Is Tobi projecting Maki-chan on Hikari? Or is he really interested in her? The Takishima is pretty scared about fighting her second favorite Hokage, she is sure she won't be a match and he will destroy her. What do you think? **

**PS. There won't be OP, but we might come upon some logic issues. **

**Love to Ania and Blu3b3rryt3a. Also to Gkozen03 and Neanai**


	32. This is a Spar, Right?

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

The man might have been called the White flash of Konoha. He was as fast as her Uncle, even though Edo-Tensei Nidaime acknowledged Minato being faster than him. The moment the spar started he threw a shurinken behind her and used Hirashin. She was just lucky she had immediately activated her Sharingan and was expecting him to start with that so she barely could dodge receiving a small cut on her cheek.

'_Wha… When did he draw his sword out?' _She thought when she wiped the blood on her cheek, and that's when she realized that he must have done it before using the shunshin technique.

"You have good reflexes" Tobirama smirked.

"You're really serious about this" Hikari answered trying hard not to stutter, and charged against him. They engaged in a fierce kunai-katana fight, and though the kunoichi had a weapon disadvantage she sure could handle the little ninja tantō. She took another one from her pouch and crossed it with the other one she already had and stopped the Senju's Katana right in front her face. She had to use all her strength to match the one that he was putting over the sword. Finally she pushed him backwards and jumped a few meters back to adjust her strategy.

"Suiton: Suidanha" he exclaimed and sent a powerful and thin stream of water against her. She had to turn the Mangekyo on to move faster because when she jumped to escape she saw that the floor had been pierced. Tobirama followed her with that technique for almost a minute. She kept dodging and jumping from tree to tree.

The spectators were in awe. Ichigo was cheering for Tobirama and Megumi was doing the same for Hikari. Takato was impressed on how serious the Senju was against the kunoichi, and also surprised about how she hadn't connected an attacked yet.

"She seems scared" Izuna whispered to him.

"I don't think so" his brother said "She is extremely nervous, but I think she's measuring him."

"I think Takato's right" Madara intervened. "Tobirama is strong, but so is she, because if not he wouldn't be interested in sparring with her. We've only seen her using a fire arrow and the Hirashin, aside from Susanoo. I wonder how many cards she as under her sleeve"

"Hope she has a full house" the youngest said his eyes not leaving her figure.

Suddenly the Albino stopped using his jutsu. It seemed he could use it for a certain period of time, because it required of him gathering chakra, the Kunoichi detected that and used all her experience of talking with Shikamaru to come up with a strategy. Even though he used his water jutsu, he never let go of the Katana, and that was a completely disadvantage for her. That's when she threw a fireball to him. Of course he dodged it, he was used to that attack from the Uchiha. He was intrigued when he saw her running towards him at full speed. She was doing some hand signs and suddenly disappeared appearing on a tree behind him.

"Katon Hi No Ya no jutsu" She exclaimed and a huge fire arrow flew directly at him. He moved just in time but the fur of his coat was caught by the fire and burnt on its tips. From the audience a gasp was heard.

"She wasn't just dodging!" Izuna exclaimed "She was marking the trees!"

"Told you so!" Takato smirked proudly. Madara was smirking too, they didn't know her fight style yet and it was intriguing. He suddenly found himself thinking about Sakura's fighting style and imagining her sparring. He shook his head to regain his attention back and then heard Hashirama arriving next to them.

"What did I miss?" he asked.

"Not much yet" the Uchiha patriarch answered him "Your brother is deadly serious in this fight and even though it's been ten minutes or so, she's holding it"

"Wow!" the Senju exclaimed "That's too much, I Had not expected that!"

"She's using the Mangekyo though" Madara added rising an eyebrow "He's damn too fast" they stopped chatting because the albino had an angered look on his face.

"Suiton: Suidanha" the man exclaimed again, and she jumped to another tree. He attacked her there and sensed her next mark. He prepared and when she jumped he attacked her again but she used Hirashin one more time and appeared on his left flank kunai in hand.

"Dammit" he said as in a swift move she cut his sleeve "When did you mark this place?" he added jumping and putting himself on guard again.

"You moved to the spot I was when you first attacked me" she grinned. "I know it's not much, but with the Mangekyo I could follow your movements better, it was a matter of time for you to step there if I continued the jumping patron."

"Smart." He just said in a plain face, but she knew he was complimenting her so she smiled and run towards him again, this time barehanded. "Not so smart now" he said and drew his katana against her. Her right eye was closed and he could sense she was gathering chakra there. '_She might use a special technique, let's see…'_ he thought.

Tobirama attacked her with his sword and in that moment she opened her right eye and stopped it barehanded. Something strange was happening because the girl wasn't actually using her strength, she was stopping the weapon like she was holding a bamboo stick. No matter how many strength the albino put into the hit, the katana barely moved.

"What is this?" he asked looking at her right now bleeding eye.

"This is my Mangekyo special technique, thought I don't use it much because it consumes a good amount of chakra" she smirked still holding the Katana with her hands like she was praying "I can relent movements of solid at the extent of almost stopping them complete."

Impressed the Senju didn't move, he was curious to see how this might end, she could not use this jutsu much longer.

"I'm afraid this was the only way for you to lose your katana" she innocently said.

"What?" he asked not following.

"Shakuton: Hakunetsu yashi" she exclaimed and the weapon became instantly red, Tobirama had to let go of it because it had burnt his hands. In that moment her stop-motion jutsu was over and she threw the sword next to her cutting her palms in the process because it still had some of the Albino's attack momentum.

"Brilliant and stupid" he said as he used his water jutsu to prevent his hands from blistering. "You've also hurt yourself, if it had gone wrong you might chopped your arms off. And you spent a big amount of Chakra in the process"

"You're right" Hikari acknowledged that, and her hands started to glow green healing herself " The Mangekyo helped there too and made me fast enough, but at least you won't be using kenjutsu anymore."

"Right." He said composed. He couldn't heal his hands because he had not learnt medic ninjutsu '_I forgot about that'_ he thought, it might be impossible for him to use weapons. However, he was sure that the girl had spent a huge amount of chakra to stand her ground, so he had the upper hand there. "Let's continue, shall we?" he said and attacked her with taijutsu.

"What a wonderful choreography" Sakura said from behind of Madara and Hashirama.

"Sakura-san!" the Senju exclaimed "What are you doing here, shouldn't you be at the hospital?"

"I wanted to watch my friend fight" she said waving her hands "Ryuuji is covering me. Is there something wrong about it?"

"Of course not!" Hashirama answered a bit nervous. He didn't want to upset her, and of course the Pinkette never realize that. She hadn't had another meaning behind her question, well, maybe se felt guilty of leaving her student in charge. '_A little time won't be an issue, right?'_ She thought.

"You know we actually felt you, right?" Madara said and Sakura raised her eyebrow and then nodded "But how much did you actually witness?" he asked

"Since her using the incandescent palm" The pinkette said "neat trick, risky but neat."

"So she has Fire and Wind affinity?" the Uchiha questioned.

"Her chakra affinity is Fire" Sakura stated "But since she can use senjutusu she sort of has real nature affinity and she mixes it with that."

"Interesting" he said.

"It's the only combination I've seen thought" the kunoichi mentioned. "It's been already twenty minutes, we didn't think she would last this much…" then in a whisper, she added as an afterthought "Maybe it's because he's still young…"

"What did you say?" Madara enquired curious. He had heard right, but he wanted her to elaborate.

"I-I…" Sakura got nervous "Don't mind me, look they are beating the hell out from each other!" she diverted his attention at the fighting duo.

Tobirama connected a punch on her jaw making her stumble. She directed a punch over his nose but he blocked it so she kicked him in the gut cutting his air. He fell on his knees and immediately grabbed her from her ankle to stop her and invert sweep-kicked her knocking her down and jumped backwards. He saw her doing the hand signs.

"Katon_ Gōkakyū no Jutsu" _ she shouted and threw a huge fireball to him.

"Suiton: Mizu keimusho" The albino counterattacked, and a large water prison engulfed the fireball. In the meantime Hikari had jumped from her place and did a bunch of hand signs. He could see she was getting tired. "You can't hold this much anymore, and those tricks won't work on me" he said cockily, but actually he was also starting to lower his chakra reserves, using the water stream to follow her movements hadn't been his best shot, but he wanted to show off but still didn't know why.

"Katon: Fukusū no dangan" she said and twenty small fire bullets rained over the Senju.

"Suiton: _Suijinheki" _Tobirama exclaimed and a big water Wall protected himself creating steam and affecting Hikari's vision.

The Takishima remained on her spot trying to sense her surroundings '_Dammit'_ she thought '_If I continue using my Mangekyo like this I will go to the hospital again. He has an advantage here. Gotta be quick, he is the best sensor, and with Hirashin, he's extremely dangerous'_ the moment she ended thinking that, a shurinken stuck on her left shoulder with strength and she stumbled back complained in pain.

"Hikari-sensei!" Megumi exclaimed. She couldn't see or feel what had happened because of the mist the Senju had created, but she could hear her sensei was in pain.

"That's not good" Sora san spoke for the first time. "He's a great sensor, she's doomed"

"Don't claim defeat so soon, Sora-chan" Kido smiled at her wisely. "Don't underestimate a fellow kunoichi" he winked at her, and the woman laughed and shook her head.

'_I'm done with this' _Hikari thought and deactivated her dojutsu '_let's take out the final card, I'm surprised I've even lasted this long anyway.' _she told herself and activated her senjutusu. Right away Tobirama lost her: with the help of the nature chakra and the extra sensorial ability of the Sage Mode she masked her chakra with nature after sensing him and waited for the mist to disappear. When it finally did, she once again charged against him.

The albino was surprised to see her with a changed dojutsu. '_Oh this is getting interesting finally' _He thought. Her movements were sharper and she had increased her strength, chakra and speed. He knew as a fact that the senjutsu did that because he had seen it and felt it on his brother. Even thought she was stronger now, he still had not released all his power.

Hikari started to mix her punches with elements nature, her fists and limbs changed color while changing the chakra accompanying them. Tobirama was absorted on how she managed natural energy, the wind made her faster, the earth gave her more strength, Water made her movements more dynamic. His brother couldn't do that. Counting the elements he finally realized something.

'_There's one chance to crack this strategy' _the Senju said out loud and waited for it to happen. '_But I don't think she'll use lightning if she thinks I have an opening to do a water jutsu.'_ With every attack he felt he was being pushed to use more chakra, she wasn't an unbeatable rival, but she put it some difficulty and fun. After a while she started to connect more punches and so did he. He wasn't tired per sé, he had stamina and even though it had lowered a bit, he still had plenty of chakra left. But the continue movement of his limbs started to take toll on him. On both of them he could realize. She had started to use more wind related taijutsu to lighten up her body.

"This is an interesting spar" Sakura mentioned "I was sure I would have a lot of work after he finished with her, but maybe we might also need to heal Tobirama-san" she chuckled. Madara snorted and Hashirama looked dumbfounded.

"It seems that she is not nervous anymore" Izuna observed "She needs more practice to beat him, and has the potential though. I would love to see you sparring with him, with your medic ninjutsu."

"I have more stamina and brute force than Hikari-chan" the pinkette answered him "But I don't have as many tricks as she has. I might need to learn one jutsu or two…" she eyed Madara and added "If I remember correctly, I was going to have a teacher regarding that issue"

"Whenever you want, my offer is still standing" The patriarch smirked gallantly. Sora looked at Kido knowingly.

"I know what you are thinking " the elder whispered her. "We'll discuss it later; we need to see how this develops"

"I've never seen him being like that with a woman" she commented in a hushed voice "He is at ease with Hikari-san too, but this feels different". Madara suddenly felt the urge to sneeze.

"Are you feeling alright?" Sakura asked in concern.

"Yes" he simply said "I had an instant itch but it's fine now" he didn't know why, but he turned and looked at the two Uchiha elders that smiled at him innocently.

In the meantime the Taijutsu continued. Every time Tobirama tried to use water Jutsu, Hikari dodge it with Hirashin. They were badly beaten, the kunoichi had a pretty swollen cheek, a cut on her lip, the wound of the shurinken on her shoulder she had not healed, and she was visibly in pain on her left side because she kept grabbing her abdomen near her ribs. Of course the cut on her face from the beginning of the battle was bigger and she had blood over that cheek, from it and from the Mangekyo.

The Albino wasn't unscathed either; he had blood on the corner or his mouth, and also a swollen cheek. He had some cuts on his clothing that hadn't reach skin because he was fast enough to dodge. But he was also in pain on his stomach where she had kicked him a while ago. Also some of her nature punches had connected, so he knew he might be fairly bruised. He wanted to accelerate things, he wanted, no, needed to win. So he increased his seriousness.

Hikari had started a new round of kicks and punches and he jumped backwards creating three shadow clones in the meantime. The clones spread out and started to attack her with water jutsu. She had to dodge and jump throwing shurinken to make them disappear, but they could use Hirashin too and dodge.

'_I am fortunate to be witnessing the creator of the Shadow Clone jutsu using it with such expertise in just a simple way' _She observed in her mind '_Naruto would be jealous'._ She realized the man was trying to stop her to using lighting nature, but she had also been waiting to do that because she knew the risks.

One of the Clones appeared to close to her and kicked her in her back, while she was thrown through the air she did the hand sings and appeared next to one of the Albinos and stabbed him with a kunai. A sudden poof of smoke showed her that that was a clone. '_Two left' _she thought.

"Katon: Fukusū no dangan" Hikari exclaimed again and jumped covered by her bullets. She did a pirouette in the air and threw a dozen of shurinken, one of them hit another Tobirama and she shunshined to him punching him in the face. Another 'Poof', another clone.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu" both Senju exclaimed in unison. He was starting to get pissed. Each one formed a water dragon, and then both techniques clashed together merging and creating a huge single water creature that seemed impossible to doge for the Takishima.

'_Finally he did a water jutsu, I think I can do this one more time and that's it' _she thought and the moment the Dragon was about to hit her she used Hirashin for the last time and appeared right behind the Tobirama on the left. She kicked him in the back, her leg filled with electricity and he was thrown back some meters ahead inside the water dragon creating a big spark.

"Oh my god, I hit the real one!" she exclaimed while landing as the Albino on the right vanished with a 'poof'. That kick really angered the Senju, it seemed she knew him. Maybe it was from the future, and she was taking advantage from that. He didn't like cheating. From his spot and with a speed competing the Hirashin he threw another stream of water that went through her in her injured shoulder sending her some a few meters away. She tried to get up but the pain she felt on her shoulder was unbearable, and she had also twisted an ankle while landing trying to stop her from rolling on the ground. She didn't have enough time to react or chakra to activate Mangekyo and Susanoo like she did with Sakura. Also, her lungs seemed to be closed from the pain.

Tobirama got up and charged towards her, his eyes filled with anger.

"He's gonna kill her!" Izuna exclaimed in worry and took a step in their direction.

"Wait!" Sakura said "Don't interfere, let them finish the spar. If he loses his mind we shall intervene, but he still seems to be right in his senses, he's just angry about something"

"Right in his senses?" the youngest Uchiha exclaimed "What about the intent, his eyes, his whole demeanor?" she watched the scene critically.

"It looks like it's more an emotional issue than a real killing intent" the pinkette observed with clinical eye "This seemed to have activated something on him, maybe it's a post traumatic syndrome. If that's the case, then yes, be prepared to act."

The three Night shifters looked at each other remembering Hikari's words

_FLASHBACK_

"_Mind health?" Takato asked._

"_Well, yes" the Takishima answered him "Back in our time Sakura developed a practice to help people with mental problems, not only disabilities but post traumatic syndromes, especially with kids"_

"_What is post traumatic syndrome?" the middle Uchiha interrupted her._

"_It's a syndrome some people develop after experiencing a traumatic experience" she explained "It's mostly related to something violent , like war, loses, or other mean acts committed over the patient or witnessed by them" She made a pause "People that have experienced war tend to have episodes like being insomniac, having violent nightmares, feel anguish or anxiety."_

"_That sounds dreadful" The Senju expressed._

"_It is." The other kunoichi stated "Some times that pain is not seen in plain sight. But the best treatment is something called therapy, where the patient talks with a medic or someone capable of hearing and understand the situations. Talking is the best way to understand things, and when you do you start healing your mind."_

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Hikari couldn't stand, knowing that she wouldn't be able to dodge his attack; she suddenly paled and felt cold, especially when she was able to see his expression. She was scared; he seemed he had lost it.

He was creating a water ball on his right hand and was running towards her. She only could crawl backwards. He was closer and closer and preparing to hit her.

The fear instead of paralyzing her made her recover some reflexes as air reentered in her lungs. With a huge yell she went over the pain and could crawl faster, the water ball hitting her on her swollen ankle. She screamed in agony and looked up to find an Angry Tobirama that was directing his fists towards her to punch her. In desperation, as she continued crawling, she instinctively started to manipulate the nature around her. As she wave her arms and hands desperately, roots emerged from the ground grabbing his legs, tree branches moved and grabbed his arms slowing his movements. She kept crawling without taking her eyes from his as she shrieked in pain and fear. The more he kept trying to walk the more roots and branches surrounded immobilizing him, until he was almost completely covered with vegetation.

"OTOUTO!" Hashirama cried and run towards the beaten sparring field trailed by Sakura, Toka and the Uchiha Siblings.

"SENSEI!" Megumi screamed followed by Ichigo. Kido and Sora held the kids so they won't interfere. They were amazed by the display both shinobi had done, with what had just happened they have realized that Hikari was indeed a powerful kunoichi, given the fact she could survive an actual real fight with Tobirama Senju. Because that was what it had been in the end. It may have started as a Spar, but it had escalated and the shinobi lost his mind.

With all the screaming and shouting –mainly from his anija-, the albino came back to his senses and could finally see the Takishima's expression of fear. She was really beaten up, her shoulder bleeding profusely and her ankle twisted in a weird way, and doing a check up on himself though he was badly beaten too, he still had a long way to go and have chakra reserves left. '_Did I lose my mind?' _He thought '_She stopped me with trees and roots? H-How… Dammit I might have killed her if she hadn't stopped me… I…' _A tear menaced to fell down from his swollen cheek and Hikari didn't fail to notice that, but she was still breathing hard because of the nervousness.

Hashirama appeared in front of his view and noticed his brother's concerned expression. It seemed he wasn't himself minutes before and now he was back.

"Are you okay Tobi?" he asked worried in a quiet voice. The albino cleared his throat because he wasn't sure his voice wouldn't betray him.

"Yes" he answered serious. "Spar is over" he sentenced, and tried to move but the roots held him even closer. He started coughing because something got tighter around his neck.

"Hikari-chan" Sakura said calmed and smiling at her "Spar is over, can you release Tobirama-san please?" she asked. The kunoichi had already relaxed when she had recognized the Senju's expression before everybody arrived but instinctively haven't broken the connection with nature yet. She closed her eyes and relaxed even more and the braches started to retract. The Roots did the same and the Shinobi was free.

"Look at me" the pinkette talked to her again "Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" she tried to joke, but laughing was not an option now, it hurt everywhere. The youngest Uchiha run towards them and kneeled next to the Takishima.

"Can I run a check up on her?" Izuna asked. Sakura looked at her friend who nodded.

"I-It would be a good practice for him" Hikari managed to say in pain with a one sided smile. The pinkette scanned her from head to toe and in plain sight she knew the kunoichi was out of danger. She will need to go to the Hospital later to heal that ankle, but she needed to stop the bleeding to move. Her friend believed in this Uchiha's expertise, and it might be interesting if he could already heal a human instead of a simply fish. She will give him a chance too.

"Sure, I leave her on your hands" She said after a moment when was sure that any injure she might have if the Uchiha couldn't handle it she might sure will. "I'll be at the Hospital if you need anything, I can't leave Ryuuji-kun alone anymore" she shrugged and then smiled "Hikari-chan behave please" she joked and her friend laughed softly with difficulty.

"Hn. Dammit it hurts… Just leave" she waved her healthy arm to her, it was covered in blood because she had been pressing her shoulder wound. The medic-nin smiled again and greeted everybody as she left. Izuna was slightly dumbfounded when he realized Sakura was leaving Hikari to his care, but it didn't last long because in a matter of seconds he was scanning her body and as she had taught him he enumerate out loud what he found.

"I feel lots of bruises, a sprained ankle, a fissured rib, your cheek swollen… the cheekbone is fine fortunately, but your shoulder is badly hurt." He said and she nodded, she sort of knew what was wrong with herself, it was like a test. When she was young when she told Tsunade that she didn't want to become a full medic-nin, the woman instead of getting angry –it might have been because she was a little drunk- decided to taught her how to do a self-scan and be aware of all her biology, it was similar than when you checked another person, but you needed to be cold minded to do it on yourself. Now that she was calmer she found out the Albino did one hell of a number on her. "I would start with the last thing if I were you because it seems you have two problems there" the Uchiha continued taking her out of her ramblings. The kunoichi looked at him expectant and nodded. "What?" he asked.

"I'm waiting for you to start your treatment" she simply said.

"WHAT?" he exclaimed.

"I'm hurt" she pointed herself with her unharmed hand and then pointed him "You heal me"

"B-But I've only treated fish" Izuna said nervous.

"It's the perfect time to start with humans" Hikari grinned. "Do you think Sakura would have left me in your hands if she wasn't sure you could treat some minor stuff?" his eyes widened.

"I-I can't…" he started and she rolled her eyes "What if I hurt you?"

"How could you?" she counter asked.

"If I don't use the exact amount of chakra I…" he started rambling.

"Helloo!" the Takishima called him "I'm bleeding myself out here." She added as she pressed her injury harder to stop the blood from coming out her shoulder. Her pained expression was all he needed to see. He started to use the Mystic Palm and the tissue there started to mend quickly. The wound was deep actually the water attack had pierced over the first shurinken wound, and exited from the back of her shoulder, like if she had been stabbed with a katana. That was why it bled so much. The hemorrhage stopped as the tissue mended. Finally after some minutes he had efficiently healed her. He moved to other cuts she had over her face and arms.

Madara, Hashirama and even Tobirama had seen the whole interaction and where utterly surprised with Izuna's expertise with medic ninjutsu. It had been just a month of learning and he was healing a human for the first time. The three of them remained on their spots. Takato and Toka smiled proudly. They had been witnesses of his exponential growth. The middle Uchiha walked by next to Tobirama.

"Would you want me to run a check up on you?" he offered. The albino looked at him absentmindly. How could he be offering that help. He almost killed Hikari-san, and he was… What would have happened if…? he coughed.

"I am fine, thank you" he grunted, but he hissed in pain. Well maybe he was a bit more injured than he thought. That last kick filled with electricity injured him badly when he reached the water dragon. He was sure that if this was not a spar, and she might put more electricity in the attack, he might be dead by electrocution. It was stupid from him to leave his back open. Sure it had been a stroke of luck that she had actually hit the real Tobirama, but even though he was visibly stronger and with more chakra at his disposal, he could have been finished by the use of logic. Lighting empowered by water. '_That's why she waited to attack me with it. She was aiming that I use a bigger technique so she can force me inside of it. I'm sure she knows my abilities from the future. Was she cheating?'_ his thoughts were interrupted by his brother.

"Oh Come on Tobi!" Hashirama said "let me check on you too"

"Leave me be" he stopped his brother the moment he saw him move. He might have a broken rib, but he was also fine. He could handle it, and that was what he told the Uchiha. "I'm fine Takato-san, I appreciate your help But I don't need it" '_nor I need your sympathy' _he thought. He was very aware of himself right now, and he couldn't stop judging himself or the kunoichi. Even though if she had cheated, that didn't justify his killing intent.

"It's okay" the middle Uchiha said. He was sure the Senju felt somewhat guilty about his actions and he was still a proud man that didn't feel that he deserved any worries. He walked towards the Takishima and his brother, who was finishing healing the wound on her cheek.

"How are you doing Otouto?" he asked.

"Otouto?" Hikari asked rising one brow at him "I'm the one that's badly injured here" she tried to look offended.

"A-Ah" the Uchiha tried to say something and slightly flushed. She realized that, and thought it was cute, so she wouldn't mess with him anymore.

"I'm joking!" she grinned "He's doing wonderful! I'm all healed" Takato smiled at her but his redness didn't leave him.

"You're not 'all healed'" Izuna said "I can't fix your ankle, we need to take you to Sakura-chan, and also even though I've healed your shoulder it doesn't seem right" he said in concern "Did I mess it up?"

"Hn. Uh let me…" She looked at her shoulder and tried to move her arm "AAAAAAAAHGGGG!" she yelled. Everybody looked at her in worry. "OuuuCH! It's ah… It's okay! I-I just…"she patted hard "My shoulder is out of place, I need to rearrange it" She tried to smile over the pain.

"How can we help you with that?" The Uchiha asked looking from her to his brother and Toka that had come by.

"Actually, I need to hit it with something…" she said looking to some trees "It has happened to me twice already" she explained. "The thing is that given the fact that I can't stand, I may need another tactic. Don't worry. I'll think of something. You should check on Tobirama, though I doubt I could do him any big harm" she joked.

"He says he doesn't need any help" Takato intervened serious.

"He is not a doctor to judge that." She answered matching his tone, and that made him smirk. "Izuna, as the medic here, you know what to do" she winked at him.

"But Your shoulder…" The youngest protested.

"Don't Worry, your brother and Toka will help me." She said "Now go" The Uchiha nodded, got up and went straightly to Tobirama.

"I'm here to check up on you" he said in a very professional way when he stood in front of the Senju.

"I don't…" the albino started to say but was cut by Izuna.

"I don't care what you think. Or how unbeatable you think you are." He said serious. "I must check your wounds and heal them, if I can. I want to heal and help people. That's my nindo, and you won't interfere with it because you're being proud." The Senju's eyes widened.

"N-nindo…?" he whispered. Hashirama and Madara were again impressed on how Izuna handled everything.

"Hashirama, could you create a seat for him so he can be more comfortable?" The Uchiha asked him. The man nodded and with his wooden style created a small bench, and then motioned his brother to seat. The albino hadn't agreed to the medic checkup, but he gave up upon hearing that his former rival nindo was to help people. '_What's my Nindo?' _he wondered in his mind.

Both patriarch retreated a little to give them space, given Tobirama's stubbornness and Izuna's seriousness, they didn't want to interfere. They went towards the elders and the kids and talked with them about what they have seen on this spar. The children were fine by now, because they could realize at the distance that both their important people were fine.

"Can we spar a little?" Ichigo asked Sora with huge puppy eyes. Megumi matched his expression. The woman looked at the leaders and Kido, and laughed.

"Okay cubs, but don't go too far" she accepted. The kids got up and run some meters away starting to throw punches and having fun.

"Those two sure have energy" Kido said.

"They are a great promise for our future" Hashirama sighed with a glittery smile as he looked at them. Madara sweat dropped at his friends sweetness and resumed talking with the elders.

Meanwhile, Takato and Toka where trying to help the Takishima to rearrange her shoulder.

"Takato-san, could you please grab my wrist firmly?" she tried to move the arm but hissed in pain. The Uchiha gently took her hand and in a swift way he moved to her wrist. Hikari blushed with his touch, he was so gentle. Like he was grabbing a delicate flower. "Hn…" she started a bit aware and uncomfortable "I need you to grab it firmly, like if it was your Katana's tsuka and you are in an incredible fight" she smiled sheepishly. He blinked.

"Like this?" he said and put a lot of pressure round her wrist. It hurt her a little, and he noticed, so he loose it up a bit. "Better?" Takato enquired, and she nodded.

"Now Toka-san, I need you to kneel behind me and just support me" she said and the Senju did as asked "No matter how much I shout, you must not release my wrist until I tell you" she said serious to Takato.

"What are you going to do?" he asked

"I'll do a movement on the count of three, ready?"

"Hai" both said in unison.

"One…" she started "Two…." Takato was surprised when before exclaiming three, the kunoichi moved her whole torso with a turn form her tandem and started screaming in agony. It took him a lot of courage not to release her but he instinctively did it anyway when he heard a 'snap' on her injured shoulder that suggested it had got back to its original place. Hikari fell backwards exhausted and Toka held her.

"I'm sorry" the Uchiha excused himself "Did I do something wrong?" he asked worried.

"HN… N-no" she managed to say while calming herself with deep breaths. "Actually I had forgotten to tell you to release me when you hear a snap. Good Instincts, it might have hurt me worse if you haven't done that" He blinked again and a small silence followed…

"HOW COULD YOU FORGET SOMETHING LIKE THAT!?" he exclaimed in an extremely non Uchiha way and now Hikari and Toka were the ones to blink. Even Izuna and Tobirama, that had heard her screaming and said nothing, looked impressed at the Uchiha's reaction. The elders and the two leaders stop their conversation to check on him. "I-I…" he tried to say something. He had messed it up and needed to apologize.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" The Takishima burst in laughter. He was taken aback by her response. "I'm sorry I worried you!" she added in between laughs and wiping some tears from her face. Toka didn't understand either "Don't look at me like if I am crazy. It was hilarious to see you all worked up like that. I'm sorry! I was pretty stressed and I found your reaction funny, thank you" she now smiled sweetly at him, and he became red. He didn't know if it was because of the embarrassment of his screaming, or because she was smiling that way only for him.

"Anyway…" he said after clearing his voice looking to the side "We should take you to the Hospital to heal that ankle."

"Yes, he is right" Toka said eyeing him. '_Kami they are so cute' _she thought.

"Okay" Hikari compelled "Let me complete the healing on my shoulder" she asked and green started to glow there. Once she had finished, she tried to get up but couldn't. The other Kunoichi held her from her back, as the Uchiha grabbed from her armpits, and then passed one of her arms over his neck so she could walk with her non injured foot. "Ahh, t-thank you" she was the embarrassed one now, because Takato was holding the arm over his neck with one of his hands, and the other one was grabbing her waist. He felt aware of his sense of touch too, but succeeded on remaining stoic.

"No problem" he said cool. He was a completely Uchiha now.

"Can we got to them?" she motioned her head towards Tobirama and Izuna.

"Sure, be careful" The shinobi said and guided her in their direction, the other Kunoichi following them behind.

"How are you doing, Hikari-chan?" Izuna asked her. He was just finishing with most of the Senju Injuries, there weren't much, but he will need Sakura to heal a broken rib.

"I'm fine, thanks to you Izuna-chan" she smiled and dropped the honorific for a more affectionate way. The Uchiha blushed and scratched the back of his head nervous.

"Aw! Izuna-chan is so cute!" Toka said playfully "You should call him that way more, his expression is priceless" she elbowed softly to her friend who giggled.

"You're just jealous because she calls me _–Chan_" he said outraged. "I'm honored to be considered worthy of such treatment." He added looking to the side prideful. Takato, who was still holding Hikari whispered to her.

"You've created a monster, be aware of that" he said. His breath near her ear made her shiver. She knew it wasn't on purpose, but she couldn't stop the motioning. He realized that, and tried to change subject '_Dammit, That was so inappropriate of me. Should I apologize?_" he thought. "Nee... Izuna-_CHAN" _he empathized the honorific "Have you finished with Tobirama-san?" That made his younger brother come back to reality.

"Hn." He eyed Tobirama who returned a plain expression to him "Yes, he's done. But he also needs to go to the Hospital. He has a broken rib." He explained. "You sure kick hard" he joked with Hikari who sweat dropped. The Albino was looking at her serious, and Izuna tried to enlighten the mood, because he didn't want the Senju to say anything about the conversation they've just had.

_***FLASHBACK***_

"_Would you please accept help?" Izuna said to the albino "Stop being so proud, a girl kicked your ass, and you snapped and wanted to kill her. That's something normal" he joked._

"_I don't find that funny Izuna" Tobirama answered dead serious. "I would have killed her if she hadn't stopped me."_

"_She stopped you anyway" he answered bored. "I don't think you could have been able to kill her despite being the almighty Tobirama Senju" the mentioned grunted. _

"_I don't deserve treatment" the albino said._

"_I thought you were smarter than that" The Uchiha said._

"_WHAT DID YOU SAID?" he said, his voice raising a little._

"_I never thought you were the self-pity type." Izuna explained as he healed his bruised cheek. "You lost it for a moment, I don't know why. But it's pretty obvious that you have some things bottled up and made you snap" The Senju remained silent, and his medic continued to examine him. "You have a broken rib, Hikari-chan sure kicks hard, she must have learnt from Sakura-chan." He sweat dropped. _

"_You seem to be really familiar with them" Tobirama grunted again._

"_I am very fond of them yes, especially with Hikari-chan." He acknowledged. "I feel her like a sister. After I treat her so badly, I could sympathize with her and we could form a bond. They are both good people to have around" The albino raised an brow._

"_She cheated" He stated._

"_How's so?" Izuna asked. His counterpart sighed._

"_She might have known me from the future, it seemed she knew my attacks and also she uses my technique in a very effective way" He stated._

"_They both know a little about the 'Founders of Konoha' but not much." The Uchiha explained "They said the history books were very poor. But it's possible that you all left jutsus for the next generations to learn"_

"_Why…" Tobirama started but then his expression fell deeply as he realized something "You and Takato weren't there right? I really killed you both that day in their reality?"_

_Izuna's eyes widened, he didn't know what to say. Suddenly they heard Hikari screaming, and Takato reprimanding her._

"_He also has a nice relationship with her" The Senju noticed. The Uchiha looked at him with a curious look. _

"_You're interested in her." He stated._

"_Why do you say that?" Tobirama asked not showing any reaction, but Izuna could feel his pulse going a bit faster. _

"_You asked her to spar." Izuna explained "You don't seem the type that asks to spar to anyone that doesn't seem worthy"_

"_Did Toka tell you something?" The albino asked directly. He used his sensing ability to check on his chakra but it didn't show any variation._

"_No." the Uchiha lied "Should she?"_

"_No." Tobirama answered. They remained in silence a little more and the albino spoke again "Take good care of her"._

"_Wha…?" Izuna's eyes opened slightly, but he couldn't finish. Hikari, his Aniki and Toka were close to them._

_***END OF FLASHBACK***_

"You do kick hard" Tobirama said to Hikari. "I'm sorry I snapped. I thought you were cheating"

"Why would you think that?" she asked surprised.

"You know. You already have my technique" he said serious. Fortunately she got what he implied.

"I know some stuff about you, but there's nothing I have not learnt spending time with you while training Megumi." She explained. "I only was extra-cautious because I know you're the best sensor in the Village, and you're good with strategy. The rest was pure luck"

"Don't underestimate yourself" The albino reprimanded her. "It might have been more interesting for you to use your sage mode from the beginning"

"Yeah, and you would have slaughtered me with your Katana" Hikari joked, but then she got worried after seeing his expression of pain. She looked at Takato and then from Izuna to Toka. The three of them had also a painful expression. She adjusted herself a little, still leaning on the Uchiha, and with her free hand she held Tobirama's shoulder. "Hey" she said pressing a little and lowering her head in sympathy. "I'm here, and nothing happened. Come back to this time"

That phrase made him look at her right in her eyes. Even though he was a stoic man, they were full of emotion, hurt, and something more she couldn't understand yet. Noticing he wasn't speaking, she continued.

"We all have memories that hurt, we all have things bottled up" the Takishima said, and he diverted his sight to Izuna for a second. "The important thing is to open, so they won't consume us. Because they do and they will if we don't act"

"How are you so sure?" Tobirama asked

"Because I've been there" She said with a sad smile. "Just where you're right now, and where you were during your last attack."

"It's hard to believe that" The Senju expressed bitterly.

"You know my past, you can't just assume I lived happily through it" Hikari said in a dry voice. Had he hurt her? He didn't answer that statement. "The thing here is that you're not unique in your pain. All the present have endured something similar."

"If you say that, why is that you seem to be fine?" he asked not thinking rationally. His chest hurt, but it was not from the broken rib.

"Because I was not alone." She now smiled brightly. "I am sure you'll overcome it too"

"WHY?" he asked annoyed, with her, with the pain in his chest, with Izuna and Takato and their sympathy with him.

"Because you are not alone Tobirama". The effect of dropping all the honorifics was huge in him. He fought hard the urge to cry. He remembered his mother, her words before she died. '_You're not alone Tobirama, even if I am not here my special child'. _He looked to the floor, not sure if he would contain the tears that menaced to fall.

"That's right you cocky bastard!" Izuna said punching him in the back of his other shoulder. The albino exclaimed in pain. "Oh! I'm sorry I forgot about your rib" he said smiling nervous, scratching the back of his head. The man looked at him with a murderous look, but it helped him release two tears, that passed of physical pain tears. "Man you're really in pain" the Uchiha did an effort to make him sure that he was going to keep his secret. Fortunately the other three didn't notice it. "Let me check again if I didn't worsen it!"

"DON'T TOUCH ME UCHIHA!" he shouted when the youngest tried to grab him from his waist. Toka, Hikari and Takato laughed at the exchange.

"Tobirama-chan is so mean!" Izuna said caressing a big bump on his head; the albino punched him as a reaction, because the damned Uchiha had tickled him on purpose.

"SENSEIII!" Megumi run in their direction yelling in joy. "FROG PRINCESS!" Ichigo followed her. The kids were eager to show them something.

"What's going on with you two?" Hikari asked amused.

"She did it!" the boy exclaimed "Look! She did it!" he grabbed Megumi and took her a few feet away from them "Come on Megu-chan! Concentrate!" The Takishima instinctively looked at Tobirama, whose mood had already changed, and shrugged. The Albino did the same and payed attention to the little girl.

Megumi had her arms extended in front of her with her palms facing each other. She had a concentrated look on her face and it was noticeable for them that she was gathering chakra. '_Oh, Kami… Does she finally…?'_ The kunoichi asked to herself but couldn't finish. Her Kohai had summoned a fair amount of chakra, and had formed a chakra ball in between her hands.

"I Did it!" She exclaimed "Hikari-sensei I did it!"

"WHOA MEGU THAT'S AWESOME!" the Takishima screamed making Takato gone deaf from one ear "Oh, Sorry about that" she apologized to him, and he chuckled.

"Oh, Kami! That is really something!" Hashirama who was coming towards them with Madara, Sora and Kido exclaimed. "You're awesome Megumi-chan!" he sparkled with joy.

The kid was so happy that for a moment she lost control of the ball and it increased its size.

"AAAhhhh!" she exclaimed "I can't control it!"

"Calm down Megu-chan" Ichigo tried to say and walked towards her.

"Ichigo, stay where you are" Takato said, but it was late. The chakra ball increased its size again and exploded sending the younglings backwards.

"MEGUMI!" Ichigo, Hikari and Tobirama exclaimed in unison. Fortunately the Senju boy had his face was slightly burnt and mostly received a massive eyebrow burn, but the girl seemed unconscious. The albino run towards her and checked her vitals.

"She's fine" he said looking at the Takishima.

"She might pass out due to chakra use" she said "It was a pretty big chakra ball for a little civilian girl like her." Suddenly Megumi started to regain consciousness.

"Anyway, I'm taking her to the hospital" Tobirama said and carried her in princess like style.

"Hey! Watch out your rib!" Izuna said.

"Don't worry doctor, she doesn't weight too much. I'll live" he smirked and shunshined. The Uchiha's face was priceless.

"D-did he…" he started "was he being funny?"

"I don't know what you guys said to him, but he sure feels better!" Hashirama said "Thank you all for taking care of my little brother" he bowed and looked at them all teary.

"You're such a crybaby" Madara said bored.

"SHUT UP! At least I'm in touch with my emotions!" the Senju burst out.

"Yes, and you will dehydrate!" his friend answered. They duo started a verbal fight that nobody cared to follow. Hikari moved slightly making Takato realize she wanted to go check Ichigo. He walked her there and she let go from his neck to grab his arm and crouched a bit to be at his height.

"You're a wonderful friend Ichigo-kun" she smiled "I am sure she could do that because of you."

"B-but she is hurt!" the boy had his face wet with tears.

"She will be fine." She smiled in a motherly way. "She wants to be a Kunoichi, so she needs to get used to chakra injuries." He was still feeling down, so she called him again "Ichigo-kun?" the boy rose his head and opened his big eyes wide when Hikari poked him with her index and middle finger on his forehead in an affectionate way "You were great!". The Little Senju touch his forehead with both hands and blushed. All his sadness gone.

"Ichigo Kun!" Toka said sweetly "Why don't we rush to the Hospital to check on Megumi Chan?" the boy nodded but still looked back to Hikari.

"I'll be there soon!" she told him "I need to heal my ankle anyway" she laughed.

"Hai!" he exclaimed and followed Toka.

"I'll go with you" Izuna said, and left with the two Senju.

"So… let's get going to the hospital" Hikari started to jump on one foot, still grabbing Takato.

"Wait" he said.

"Nani?" she asked. Sora and Kido approached them.

"Kido-san will you help me?" the middle Uchiha said, handling Hikari's arm to the elder . The kunoichi didn't understand what was going on until Takato crouched, his back facing her "Hop on"

"WHAT!?" the Takishima exclaimed embarrassed. "I'm not going to do that!"

"So you want to jump on one foot to the Hospital?" he said.

"Your foot looks pretty bad, Hikari-san" Kido intervened. '_Traitor'_ Hikari thought.

"It's the quickest way" Sora-san added "Unless he carries you like Tobirama-san did with the little girl".

"Kami, that's embarrassing" she said her face red.

"Well actually he carried you that way when you passed out during the Hyuuga attack…" Takato said in a soft voice. '_Does he…? He sounds down." _She spoke in her mind. "If you prefer I can call him for you…"

"Shut up" she said. "Okay, you win let's go" she hopped on his back, and he grabbed her down her knees, careful enough not to touch her further. He might seem cool, but the touch of her body in his back was making him feel dizzy. It got worse when she surrounded his neck with her arms.

"Hold tight" he last said and jumped off with the kunoichi screaming. It was a mixture of fear and Joy.

"Don't you dare to drop me!" she scolded him while re-entering the city.

"I'll never let go" he said and she could see his profile smirking. She didn't know why, but her arms held him tighter over his shoulders. '_It's because I don't want to fall'_ she said to herself. She was sleepy; it had been a hell of a day. '_fall…' _she kept thinking. And Takato felt her body grow heavy, as she fell asleep over him.

*****AUTHOR'S NOTES*****

**Sorry! I had the battle written long time ago, but I had some issues with my Dad's regarding his health, and I'm going through so much stress right now. But I needed this to move on. It's good to me.**

**Lots of stuff happened here. Little Sakura, but don't worry, some big SasuSaku moments lie ahead. I've written a special chapter a year ago, and I can't believe I actually wrote that.**

**Tried to do the Battle Logical. There's no way Hikari is stronger than Tobirama, but given the fact he is not the "Nidaime" yet, and has not created the academy and lots of jutsu, he still needs some growth himself, and she took advantage of that. She actually didn't know much about his fighting style, because EdoTensei Nidaime was thousands of times stronger than 22yo Tobirama. Also he is struggling with a lot of things in his mind. I love Tobi. **

**I also notice Hashirama has not have a lot of scenes yet, but he will! Don't worry. These chapters were important to develop Hikari-Takato-Izuna-Toka-Tobirama relationship and characters. I can't wait to write Madara, also.**

**Big things are coming! And new clans.**

**Hope you like this.**

**Love and keep safe.**

**Bella. **

**PS: These are the Jutsus used during the fight:**

_**Katon Hi No Ya no jutsu: **__**Fire arrow **__**(by me)**_

_**Suiton: Suidanha: **__**Water severing wave**_

_**Shakuton: Hakunetsu yashi: **__**Burn Element: Incandescent palm (by me)**_

_**Suiton: **__**Mizu keimusho: **__**Water Prision (by me)**_

_**Katon: Fukusū no dangan: **__**Multiple fire bullets (by me)**_

_**Suiton: **__**Suijinheki: **__**Water Wall**_

_**Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu: **__**Water Dragon**_


	33. Therapy

**Disclaimer I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

Takato arrived at the Hospital with Hikari sleeping on his back. He softly woke her up and after some minutes she understood the situation and extremely embarrassed she hopped off from his back. In the Hospital, Megumi was being treated by Sakura and Tobirama was waiting in the corridor. The little girl had burnt her hands and she had some little burns on her face, but the Pinkette healed her complete. When the duo entered the building, she had just asked the albino to enter so she could fix his rib. The little Koji girl was waiting outside and run to meet her sensei.

"You saw sensei!" she exclaimed "I could do it! But I need to practice more"

"You were awesome Megumi" Hikari sat next to her on a bench. Takato helped her and sat to her side. "Of course, we'll increase our training. You need to work on your concentration."

"I know!" her kohai answered "I will train hard!"

* * *

Inside the examination room Sakura was running a scan on Tobirama.

"I need you to take your shirt off" Sakura said as she wrote some notes on a chart. Silence was the only answer she received. She looked up from her chart and saw a grumpy albino that seemed more like a shy little boy, than the impressive warrior she knew. "Come on Tobirama-san, I need to check your torso."

"I thought healing chakra could work over clothes" he grunted.

"Yes, but I don't heal everything with healing chakra" the pinkette said serious "It would be counterproductive for the body"

"Why is that?" The Senju asked.

"Because medic ninjutsu accelerates the cell multiplication of the patient's body, and helps it heal faster." Sakura explained "It's essential in battle and in fatal wounds that need the fastest treatment. But to use it for everything, it's like cheating. Also is very chakra consuming, and I have lots of patients to attend" She added "Now please take your shirt off. Don't worry, I'm a kunoichi. I've had missions with male comrades; I had to treat my sensei and lots of men during war and in the Hospital. I even do surgeries. Don't be shy."

"Hn." Tobirama said, and started to remove his clothes.

"You're starting to bruise. Let me see" she said and started to analyze the marks. She realized he had lots of poorly healed scars that clearly meant he had fought a lot. This man suffered a lot too. "She really did a small number on you. We weren't sure she might even hit you" she said absentmindly. She touched him on his left side and he suddenly moved in discomfort. "Does it hurt?"

"It tickles…" he said bored "but yes, it also hurts"

"You have a broken rib there" Sakura checked with her tact and applying a little of chakra.

"That's what Izuna told me" The Senju answered.

"Boy, that brat is sure learning fast" Sakura smiled still focused on his injury and the bruise it created.

"Aren't you younger than him?" Tobirama asked rising an eyebrow.

"Nani?" she asked

"You shouldn't be calling him 'brat', he is your sempai" he elaborated with a serious tone. Kami, this man was pretty difficult. She sighed.

"It's an affectionate way to call him, Tobirama-san" the pinkette said "and he is going to become my apprentice, so he will be my kohai instead of sempai, you know?" she moved to a counter and grabbed an ointment. "Stay still" she asked as she put the ointment aside and grabbed the area surrounding the broken rib, one hand on his back and the other one on his upper left abdomen. "I need to realign the bone so I can start healing it" she explained "It will hurt, and you will hear sort of a 'snap'. Be patient."

The kunoichi closed her eyes and started to apply strength from both sides, moving her tandem like she was doing some kind of tai chi-like taijutsu. In a swift movement a snap was heard and the Albino almost cried out loud, but he ended clenching his teeth hard and suppressing a scream instead.

"Excellent" Sakura observed "It has aligned perfectly. Now I'll use chakra to fasten the calcium regeneration so the rib will weld efficiently." The Shinobi nodded as green chakra started to flood his inner left ribcage.

'_She sure has a perfect chakra control' _he thought '_and that seal withholds an insane amount of chakra.'_ The albino thought that he actually didn't know much about them; aside what they had told him and some small chats with Hikari during trainings. He started to feel guilty, because y really seemed to be good hearted people, and he was always so serious and rude with them. He might have even killed her friend… his ramblings were interrupted by Sakura.

"Done!" she said smiling. He looked to his side and saw his skin was still purple. "How do you feel?"

"I'm still bruised" Tobirama answered in a plain face. "It still hurts"

"Yes, the bruise needs to heal by itself" she said "But pay attention to the pain, how is it?" The Senju moved to both sides and realized something.

"It's an external pain. It doesn't hurt inside anymore" he concluded.

"That's perfect!" The Pinkette clapped her hands smiling. "Now I'll put this ointment on your skin and bandage you up" she grabbed the supplies and showed to him "this is a mixture of natural herbs and oils that help the skin reabsorb the blood from the broken vessels, and also has anesthetic quality." He nodded. As she worked on him, he thought about making a little conversation but something stopped him. The Pinkette might not be a sensor, but she had become sort of an expert on emotions, and was sensitive about that in the atmosphere. When she ended her task she went to grab her chart and wrote some extra stuff there.

"You can dress up again" She said. The man did as asked, still feeling that he might have said something more. He didn't need to think further about that because his medic spoke first. "When you're finished, please have a seat next to my desk" she asked.

"Hn." The Senju said, did she want to speak with him about what almost happened?

Once Sakura was sitting behind her desk, she started to rearrange some papers. He finished and walked next to her and sat down a nearby chair. He didn't say a word.

"Tobirama-san" the pinkette started "I know for sure that all of you have had tough infancies and because of that I assume you all were witnesses of a lot of violence." He kept silent, what she had just said was pretty obvious, but he knew that that was not the point. "I think you all are traumatized in a way because of that. It's a common mental reaction. We all have traumas"

"So?" his voice was husky, maybe it was because the small knot that was forming in his throat.

"Some people like Hashirama-san or Madara-san tend to overturn their frustrations in something positive, like the idea of the Village, or creating peace from where is always horror and pain, though they fight a lot" her tone was very professional, and he was very impressed by how older she seemed while talking like that. "Takato-san and Toka-san are that way too. They both want to help and protect their precious people. But there are some other types of people like Izuna-san or yourself that bury their pain inside an internal cage and become cold and closed off to people." He was right, she was talking about what happened, she continued "And those are the most dangerous ones" '_SHIT'_ he thought.

"It was not my real intention to kill your friend" he said getting defensive.

"I am not talking about that" she cut his speech, and he looked at her confused. "There is something called Post Traumatic Syndrome. It's often seen on people that had witnessed horror and violence in any time of their lives. Not everyone develops it, but the trend is higher in the last type of people that I've mentioned. People that bottle up things, and don't trust their loved ones"

"Bottle-up you say…" Tobirama thought out loud, and it was her turn to look at him with a curious look. "Izuna and Hikari-san mentioned the same thing."

"Well, Hikari-chan has had something similar, but it didn't escalate much. She would become very violent when she was extremely hurt emotionally." The pinkette explained. "Even I have moments like that. I don't know if Hashirama-san told you about it, but I almost destroy a mountain when I lost a patient in the Merchant village." His eyes opened up wide at that.

"No, he didn't mention It." He said "I guess we don't talk much aside of Village-related things" Sakura nodded with interest and made a mental note about something she thought, she preferred to continue with her story for now.

"The only thing that stopped me from my rampage was Hikari-chan becoming my punching bag" she said smiling sad. "I'm not proud about that, but I am always working on it. We both are." She continued "On our Konoha I created a clinic that attended emotionally injured people, especially children and shinobi victims of war. Lots of kids had lost their families and witnessed the horror, and that's the difference with your era. Those children didn't go to war like you did. War destroyed their world."

The Senju remained silent. That's why they were so angry when the saw the children on the battlefield the day they arrived.

"I was inspired mostly by my teammates and Sensei Story, and also Hikari-chan's the one you know." Sakura needed him to know more. "Naruto had lost his parents, and everybody in the village used to hate him because he had the Kyuubi sealed inside. Dammit even I was mean to him in the beginning, until I made friends with Hikari-chan and knew him better. Even though he had an awful past and present, he still was bright looking at the future. Sasuke-kun had had a beautiful infancy, he was loved by his mother and brother, and he had finally received respect from his father, the head of the Uchiha Clan. But when they all were murdered he became cold. He eventually closed off to us and ended up becoming a murderer, and the number 1 enemy of the Village. Kakashi sensei had suffered his father suicide by seppuku, and had lost a friend during war, his other teammate committed suicide by throwing herself in front of his attack, and his Sensei -Naruto's dad- died tragically some time later."

"His teammate committed suicide by his hand?" Tobirama said "That's sick"

"She had been captured by the enemy and they had sealed a tailed beast inside her so they would release it in Konoha and destroy everything." The pinkette explained "during the battle Kakashi-sensei was attacking some of her captors and she jumped intercepting the attack, she preferred to die than to be a tool in an attack on the Village. He pierced through her heart because she didn't give him time to react. That haunted him for decades". The albino paled a little, he gulped hard.

"So their stories inspired you to do what?" he managed to say.

"To create a clinic, so those emotionally injured people wouldn't be alone, and could have support." She answered "Kakashi-sensei became a cold, insensitive man after that. The perfect shinobi assassin. Sasuke-kun for a moment lost his mind; It got worse when he learned that his brother had killed his Clan because it was an order from a Village elder. He ended up killing that man, piercing over one of his henchmen that was being held by him. I could save her but he tried to kill me."

"Kill you? Wasn't him your friend?" He was absorted in her story. '_He really is a good listener'_ the kunoichi observed.

"At that time we were nothing to him" She said hurt "He wanted to destroy all the bonds he had because he said they were weaknesses"

"I can see the point in that. Father used to say something like 'feelings make you weak' and something like that" he said "What happened to him in the end?" The Senju asked curious. He used to hate Uchiha, but this kid seemed to have endured a lot.

"He never listened. After the war he wanted to destroy the Village and Naruto fought him." Sakura told him "in a battle to death." She made a pause "they used all the chakra they had left on one attack each, and when they clashed together the explosion almost kill them. We found them laying down over a pond of their own blood, both missing the arm with which they had launched their attacks. That's when Naruto's words finally reached Sasuke-kun's heart. And he apologized to him, to me and to everybody. Now he is a loyal shinobi of the leaf, and even though he is still cold and reserved, he knows he can count on us as family. Anytime he felt bad, he came to talk to us and releasing his pain made him feel better"

A long silence followed all her story. It was too much to process for Tobirama. Sakura was a bit embarrassed because she thought she had spoken too much.

"I'm sorry, I've spoken a lot…" she started to apologize.

"Don't" he cut "there is no need to apologize. You're telling me all of this because you think my case is related to them, am I right?" she shyly nodded "You're my medic, where's all that security from the beginning? You can't be shy if you're going to treat me." Her face brighten.

"So… you…" she tried to say something.

"Yes" he looked at her serious "I need help. I wanted to kill Hikari-san for a moment, but it wasn't like that, I-I…" he made a pause "I was angry. Her attack, her techniques. I thought she was cheating."

"Why would she be cheating?" Sakura interrupted.

"Because you come from the future, and you seem to know me." He stated "And I don't know how, because I am sure I was long dead before you were born" Sakura's colors left her face for a moment and he noticed, but say nothing. "And Maki-chan… I-I…" he stopped his rambling. '_Why did I mentioned her now? After all this years…' _He thought.

"Wait a moment" The pinkette regained her composure. "She didn't cheat. We do know a little about you, and I can't tell you why, because it will spoil some things of the future. Just know that there's some information on our history books about you and your brother. And you actually created a lot of jutsu used on our era. But that's not the case. She didn't have any advantage aside knowing you're the best sensor and use water style jutsu." She was a little worked up right now and she needed to calm that because of the things she needed to ask next. "That's why I said we didn't think she could harm you like she did. I think it's because you're still young, and you were older when you created all the jutsu we know."

"Hn." He said crossing his arms "I see your point. But you both underestimate yourselves"

"I know" Sakura sighed "It's a thing in the Village that women tend to underestimate themselves. I think is a bit misogynist." She chuckled.

"Misogynist?" Tobirama asked "What is that?"

"It's a way of thinking that women are less worthy and weaker than men." She explained, and was surprised to hear him snort.

"That's stupid" he said "Women give birth, protect and defend their camps, and some of them even fight side by side with men during battle. We men are the ones that sometimes are unworthy of them" He stopped because of Sakura's delighted expression "What?" he said now exasperated.

"Who would have thought you were a feminist…" she said amused, and noticing his face she added "it's a person that believes in genre equality"

"I think if you speak with my brother and even the Uchiha Siblings they all think the same" he said a bit flustered looking to the side. He heard her giggle.

"I know." Sakura answered. "Anyway, there are three things left I need to ask you. May I?"

"Go on" Tobirama allowed.

"First of all, I would want to have some encounters like this with you. It's called therapy." Sakura said "We can work together on your trauma, so you never lose yourself again. Would you like to?"

"What do we do in therapy?" the albino asked.

"You sort of open that bottle of feelings you have buried inside you, and we try to heal them" she explained.

"That seems an embarrassing thing to do" he theorized.

"I will keep professional secrecy." The pinkette swore "Anything you say to me won't leave our sessions, unless you want to share it." He considered for a moment and nodded. "Excellent, we can do this weekly. We'll set the appointments once I finish this shift." She wrote something on her chart again "The second thing I needed to ask to you is about your relationship with Hashirama-san."

"What about it?" the man asked grunting again.

"Have you ever opened and talked to him?" she enquired. He remembered the last month and a half, all the small conversations they had had and remembered one specially. The one they had after he had spoken to Takato.

"I did it once, almost a month ago" he said. "I had spoken with Takato about sibling's relationship and I had the Urge to express some stuff I had inside since I was a child"

"And how did it feel?" The kunoichi asked.

"Lighter" Tobirama resumed.

"Good. That's what I want to work with you" she said "For our next encounter think about your relationship with your family in general, and your elder brother in particular."

"Okay" he nodded.

"And the last thing…" she made a pause "Who is Maki-chan?"

* * *

Once Tobirama was healed, It was Hikari's turn to be checked by her Friend. The albino looked at her and nodded in her direction as he left the building. She was sure he felt awkward and still feel guilty, but he seemed lighter than he was before. _'Maybe Sakura has spoken with him about what happened'_ she thought.

The Uchiha helped her up and lead her at the Pinkette's door. She told him to go and get some rest, because she will get out from the examination room walking fine, so he offered to accompany Megumi to her home. There was a small awkward silence between the two grown-ups, and they weren't sure why. Megumi jumped from her spot when she saw Ichigo arriving with Toka and the other Uchiha. She felt bad he was injured because of her, but when her Sakura appeared through the door to call another patient she saw everybody and approached him and healed him in a matter of seconds. Izuna didn't want to try helping him yet, because he was still a little boy and he wasn't sure about chakra amounts.

The pinkette made her friend get inside and the rest of them decided to leave to grab something to eat before their shifts.

* * *

When they were inside the room, Sakura quickly checked her friend. She had more bruises than her counterpart, but Izuna had healed the majority of her injuries.

"He really is getting better on this" the pinkette exclaimed pleased. "I can't wait to teach him all I know"

"Next week, wasn't it?" Hikari asked "I know you grew fond of Madara and Hashirama, but they might need mornings to work on the Hokage naming, and also I have nothing else to teach to the Night Shifters."

"It seems fair" she answered giggling about the nick name her friend had given to the night group. "Let me check your ribs, I thought I noticed one slightly cracked"

"How can you do that without having any dojutsu?" The Takishima was in awe with her friend's abilities. Sakura chuckled.

"It's because of your body language." She said "People adopt a specific position whenever something is not okay. You were in pain, but if you had a broken rib, like Tobirama-san had, you would have been hurting more. How did you fix the dislocation?"

"Sometimes I forget you are like a female Shikamaru." Hikari joked "I asked Takato-san and Toka for help. I forgot to tell him to let go of my arm when he heard a snap, but he did it anyway. He got mad at me and gave me an earful" she laughed, her friend following her.

"Really? So cute! Why did I miss that!" Sakura exclaimed while healing her "You two have a nice thing going on there…"

"WHAT?" the Takishima blushed.

"You seem to be really at ease with him, It's difficult to explain…" she said "It's like you're not friends but you have a special bond"

"Not friends? What do you mean about that?" her friend asked.

"I mean, it's not the same relationship you have with Izuna-san, nor with Hashirama, or Madara-san" the pinkette explained "You told me you like him, but that being said, it looks like you may really fit together"

"Shut up" Hikari laughed embarrassed "You're being silly, and I don't have time for romance right now. I'm on the same grounds as you" when she saw Sakura's eyes wonder around she doubted about what she had said "Or maybe I'm wrong… How's your relationship with Madara-san?"

"There's nothing new under the Sun" Sakura said smiling.

"You seem different" her friend pointed out serious "It's been a long time since we've talked"

"Don't be silly, we talked just yesterday!" the pinkette laughed

"That doesn't count" Hikari said "We were talking about my spar with Tobirama-san, not about _boys" _She crossed her arms and made a knowing face."

"Okay, you want to talk?" the kunoichi asked, and seeing the Takishima nodding she added "then dress yourself up again and come join me for lunch, I have a bento made by Matsu that seems to be heavenly"

"Oh! I'm starving!" the brunette rushed over her desk and sat next to her to share a meal. "So, tell me. What's going on with you? I can tell you don't blush or get nervous around Madara or whenever I tease you with him."

"I don't know…" Sakura bite her chopstick. "It seems I am not shy anymore, since I checked his head for the curse of hatred. I told you we spoke a lot, and I told him about Sasuke-kun. I ended up saying something pretty embarrassing but even though I kind of set myself on fire, it morphed our relationship into a more relaxed one" she knew she was blushing, but It was kind of an obvious reaction given the fact she was confessing something important to her friend –and also remembering the conversation.

"Kami Sakura, what did you say?" Hikari urged from the border of her seat.

_***FLASHBACK***_

"_Madara-san" the pinkette called from the door, he looked at her and noticed that now in the dimmed he could trace all her face features perfectly. "If that bastard of Sasuke could win to that thing being in the lowest someone can be, you will stand your fight unscratched. I know what I'm saying, you're way a better man than he could ever dream to be." She smiled and abruptly turned her back so she could make her big exit. Actually she was red of embarrassment and she didn't want him to notice 'CHA YOU DID ONE HELL OF A CONFESSION MISSY!' Inner exclaimed in joy 'Come on, I had to say that. It was pretty embarrassing though, but it might give encourage his faith' Sakura argued 'DON'T LIE TO US, WE KNOW YOU REALLY FEEL THAT WAY. HE HAD STEPPED OVER EVERY TINY LITTLE REMINDER OF YOUR LOVE FOR SASUKE' the voice had spot a nail 'Oh, I need Hikari Chan to wake up, I need to talk to her!' Sakura lamented._

_***END OF FLASHBACK***_

"WHOA!" The brunette exclaimed almost choking with her food "You never told me that!" she was grinning widely. "Inner is right; you did one hell of confession there!"

"Oh, come on" Sakura moaned _'CHAAA I TOLD YOU! SHE THINKS THE SAME THAN ME". _She did her best to ignore Inner, she was insufferable when she thought she was right, which was mostly always.

"What happened then?" Hikari said resuming her eating. "Don't you dare give me information in small portions." The pinkette snorted.

"Nothing else happened" she said "It was a bit awkward at the beginning, but then it changed and we achieved some level of confidence in where we treat each other like equals"

"That is so cool!" the Takishima exclaimed "I always wanted a big brother, so I guess Madara might be like a brother in law or something if he ends up with you…" she mocked her innocently.

"Or if you end up with his brother" Sakura counter attacked, and Hikari became red this time. Her joke had backfired.

"Anyway, changing subject" the latter cleared her voice "Have you spoken with Tobirama-san?"

"Hn?" the pinkette asked absentmindly and remembered the last part of their conversation.

_***FLASHBACK***_

"_And the last thing…" she made a pause "Who is Maki-chan?" _

_The albino swallowed hard, and his eyes widened. He wasn't expecting this question. He started to feel cold, and he knew it was some kind of anxiousness. He realized that Sakura could notice that too. Should he tell her about Maki-chan? Well, if she was going to be his mind medic, maybe he should. He cleared his voice._

"_Maki-chan was an important person to me" He explained "And was killed in a battle with the Hagoromo Clan some years ago"_

"_I see" Sakura said "How important was she? Like a friend, or maybe… a love interest?" This woman was sharp._

"_You could say so" he grunted a bit nervous "I was thinking of courting her before everything…" he couldn't continue, his voice left him. The pinkette got up from her seat and walked to him. She put her hands on his shoulders and she spoke to him like she was speaking to a frightened child._

"_It's okay to cry, even if you are a boy, a man or the fearless Shinobi" she said in a kind motherly voice, he remembered again his Oka-san "She deserves that you let your emotions flow, not repress them. You've been repressing for so long, Tobirama-san"_

_He didn't want to, he had been able to control his emotions for years. But why couldn't he stooped the water falling down his face like it was another water jutsu._

"_You were drowning your heart in sorrow" Sakura said "Now it's the time to let the water go" That's when he broke down in tears, sobbing hard. She didn't want to push him harder, so she let go of his shoulders to give him space to mourn. He grabbed his head, supporting his elbows over his knees. He was like this for a while. After some minutes she went behind him and sent a bit of green chakra between his shoulder blades and he calmed down._

"_You need to rest, Tobirama-san" She asked gently "Now go and eat something, and then sleep to get your head in a healthier place. Then come and find me. We'll arrange our second meeting"_

"_Second?" he said more composed._

"_Sure! This was the first one" the Pinkette explained, and smiled at him as she noticed the tears had vanished from his droopy eyes._

_***END OF FLASHBACK***_

"Sakura?" Hikari called her back to reality.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something" she said "We arranged that I would have therapy sessions with him, so we could work on his snapping. I'm positively its PTS."

"And he agreed with that?" the Takishima asked impressed.

"Yes he did. Fortunately" the pinkette sighed.

"That's good." She considered "He is a good man"

"Indeed…" her friend answered. "Now tell me about you, your reaction to his attack was desperate. Did you release Ōtsutsuki chakra or not?"

"HN?" Hikari was surprised by her sudden change of subject, but what worried her more was her also sudden seriousness. "No, I didn't" she answered "It was more like an involuntary response; I don't know why I got that frightened. It felt familiar… but I don't remember being in a similar situation"

Sakura made a long pause. _'Is she...? no it can't be'_ The Takishima thought _'she looks like she feels guilty about something'. _

"What's going on Sakura?" She asked bluntly. Her friend opened her eyes wide.

"There's something that I know that you need to know." The pinkette said more serious than ever. "And now no one can't forbid me to tell you" she sighed "It seems you have already developed the same reaction during your trainings with Naruto and Jiraiya-sama" she explained.

"WHAT?" it made no sense to the brunette that statement?

"Tsunade-sama had a record about yourself that contained in detail the times you snapped and accessed to your Ōtsutsuki's Chakra without thinking." Sakura said in just one breath. "I wasn't allowed to tell you, like you weren't allowed to tell Naruto. I was waiting for a moment to leak it out to you, but it never happened and I eventually forgot. Until I saw you today"

"You lied to me all this years?" the Takishima said hurt.

"I-I…" Sakura didn't want her to get angry, but she had no excuse "You could say so. I learnt about that while checking the Clinic Records and I wanted to tell you. But Tsunade Sama told me that it was fixed, that your seal was okay and if you knew it would have made you feel bad for yourself. Or maybe that you were dangerous" The brunette was down and her eyes were shiny. She wasn't crying, but she felt deeply hurt. The pinkette took something from her pouch and handled it to her. "Here" she said "This is a very summarized health record of you. I did this kind of thing whenever I needed to participate on a mission, because it will help me to treat patients if needed." Hikari took the piece of paper as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I reacted against my will if I am utterly angered or scared?" she read out loud. Of course that wasn't what Sakura had written, but it meant something similar.

"Tsunade-sama told me that you used to react any time Naruto expelled a tail during your training with Jiraiya-sama" The pinkette explained "It seemed you got extremely scared and the chakra just flowed over your seal to protect you, and you entered in a sort of Sage Mode that could attack directly the Kyuubi. "

"H-how could I…" Hikari kept reading "How did they stop me?"

"By knocking you out" she explained "Jiraiya had to do that because it enraged the Kyuubi and it would be counterproductive. I think he might have done that with a Genjutsu, as Shizune told me. That's why you don't remember"

"Shizune knew too?" Hikari said with tears on her eyes "Of course she would who I am kidding!" she abruptly got up from her chair, and Sakura mimicked her.

"Wait! Hikari chan" she followed her friend that was walking to the door. "Please" she begged "I am sorry I didn't tell you sooner, you're right to be mad but please, forgive me." She grabbed her gently by her wrist to retain her and bowed apologizing. The Takishima looked at her hurt.

"I-I am not mad at you…" she said "Well, maybe I am, I don't know. I need to get some fresh air. We'll talk about this later" The pinkette let go of her.

"Okay, promise me we'll talk about this." She begged again "I don't want to lose your friendship because of this." She was almost crying. Her friend sighed.

"You won't lose my friendship" she assured "I just need to think. I didn't understand why I was so scared when Tobirama charged against me, and now that you are saying this, I am starting to remember Naruto in two or maybe three tails form attacking Ero-Sennin. And I don't know if that's true or it's just my mind toying with me because of what you've said." She opened the door "Please let me do some thinking, but I promise, you'll never get rid of me, baka". She did a one sided sad smile and Sakura nodded, and then she left.

'_Kami, why did they have to make this so difficult? Why did they always prefer to hide the truth? Just like with Naruto.'_ Sakura thought hurt, while cleaning the tears from her eyes. She closed the door and went back to her desk to drink some water and try to compose herself.

"Maybe it wasn't the best moment" she said out loud to nobody. She suddenly heard a soft noise coming from the window, like someone was hitting it with a tiny tool. She looked and found a Uchiha falcon with a message address to her. And it was no regular Uchiha Falcon. It was Madara's.

*****AUTHOR'S NOTE*****

**Small chapter! But I needed to update soon. I have lots of things to write, but this chapter was more Sakura-centric. I told you the last one that I have tons of MadaSaku ahead (well maybe not tons, but lots of stuff), and it's not always shipping. I like her sympathetic side since the War and specially during The Last. I think she would be the best person to be trusted by Tobirama to heal himself. And also I want to show the medical/Psycological idea of different types of trauma, and the effects of bottling up things (I do love that expression) **

**I loved the MadaSaku flashback, If you are looking for that conversation, is located on Chapter 29 "Sharingan and Curse". Also if you ship both MadaSaku and TakaHika you will love next chapter!**

**And those that Love Hashirama, he will have the spotlight soon… Will he become Hokage this time too?**

**Hope you're doing fine. Keep safe, and love.**

**Bella**


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